


A Surprise Ending

by Flyby Stardancer (FlybyStardancer), gatekat



Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: Dubious Consent, M/M, Mech Preg, Spark Sex, Sticky Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-09
Updated: 2013-01-09
Packaged: 2017-11-24 07:02:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/631721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlybyStardancer/pseuds/Flyby%20Stardancer, https://archiveofourown.org/users/gatekat/pseuds/gatekat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>G1 Elite Trine/Ultra Magnus<br/>Ultra Magnus is having the decorn from the Pit. First he finds out he's carrying a sparkling created by a brief affair. Now he's a prisoner on the Nemesis. It's bad, but it's going to get weird.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Bad Orn Turns Weird

Every line in Ultra Magnus' body was weary as he was shoved into the holding cell in the Decepticons' brig and rough, strong hands chained him to the wall. The first interrogation of a high-ranked officer was always just a test of their resolve. Nonetheless, it was long and exhausting.

The past few orns had not been kind to the City Commander. A short fling with a Seeker on loan to his unit had created a permanent change to his life. By the time he had found out, Groundshaker had already moved on to his next assignment and was out of communications range. Even if he hadn't been, Ultra Magnus still might not have told him. He was enjoyable enough in the berth, but the Autobot Seeker was also reckless and irresponsible. Undesirable traits when looking at the long-term commitment raising a creation would propose. As the carrier, the ground mech had to look out for what was best for his newspark. 

So far he wasn't doing as well as he should have been. Getting captured by the enemy certainly wasn't good for him and his creation. Even if the sparkling wasn't directly terminated once they figured out he was carrying, the stress and survival rations would cause him to miscarry if he were here long enough. It was a terrifying thought.

He could only hope that he was rescued before his creation was permanently damaged. It was one factor that his rank was likely to help with. It made him important enough to put effort into rescuing quickly, and for once he couldn't find it in himself to object to that importance. He might not be worth it, but the tiny and completely innocent life now orbiting his spark most definitely was.

Wearily Ultra Magnus sank back, bracing against his back and locking his lower joints to give his frame relief. Unlike the proper brigs the Autobots maintained, there were no berths or benches in these, not that he could have used them while chained to the wall and forced to stand. He was in the isolation sector, or at least he assumed he was. There were no other cells he could see into at any rate.

He was just settling into a low-level recharge when pedefalls reached him and he brought himself up to full alertness before the mech appeared. 

Seeker. Purple.

He sighed in resignation. There was only one reason a mecha outside the interrogation types, Megatron or Starscream would visit a prisoner.

At least the overload would help the newspark, even if it was hard on the carrier. Hopefully it would be over fast. Seekers weren't known for their endurance.

"Oh, you are a big one," the grin on the purple mech's face was almost feral.

Skywarp, Ultra Magnus' tac-net eventually supplied.

Strong black hands ran down his chestplates until one curled around his interface cover. Resigned acceptance touched his field as the cover opened, exposing a valve that was unaroused but just slick enough to prevent damage. Accepting the abuse and not resisting would likely be the only thing he could do for his newspark at the moment. This one didn't seem to be interested in harming him if he didn't try to fight back.

Jet engines purred at the feel of the slick valve. "You've been used before," Skywarp smirked, only to freeze with his fingers still inside Ultra Magnus' valve and his spike on prominent display. An odd look crossed the Seeker's features that then turned into a scowl. His fingers drew away even as his frame pressed closer and his field reached out, invasively deep.

Intel said that Skywarp was simple. That though his processors were higher grade than most, his teleportation algorithms ate up 90% of his processor power. What was he....

Comprehension flashed across features unaccustomed to the look.

"Oh Primus," Skywarp's voice held an odd combination of awe and disbelief, his optics wide and expression unguarded as he stepped back and teleported away in a swirl of purple.

Ultra Magnus stared in confusion at the air where the Seeker had been. What had changed Skywarp's mind? It wasn't like there was anything to distract him, and he hadn't behaved as if he were being contacted by someone else.

The newspark gave a pulse against Ultra Magnus' own spark as the large mech closed his valve cover and settled in to his solitary wait.

It was three joors of silence and Skywarp teleported back into the cell with a serious look on his face. "Play nice and you won't be stuck in here any more, okay?"

"...Alright," Ultra Magnus agreed, bemused. His actions were completely unprecedented and the Commander was struggling to figure out what Skywarp was up to. Whatever he was after, it was unlikely to harm him worse than the torture he would eventually have to suffer.

The purple Seeker nodded and reached to open the shackles binding Ultra Magnus to the wall, using his own frame to help support the larger, heavier mech. As his arms came down they wrapped around the convoy class mech and he stepped back, drawing Ultra Magnus away from the wall.

A moment of complete _nothingness_ and then Ultra Magnus was struggling to focus on the details of what was a very large stateroom. One far bigger than anything the Autobots had. It also showed signs of a lot of careless living. All sorts of odds and ends were strewn about, but most surprising was the quantity of organic fabric made into pillows and berth padding covers. A berth, he belatedly noticed, that he was being pulled towards, and was large enough for at least four or five mecha Skywarp's size.

Had the Seeker wanted a change in venue for taking him? Or was this Megatron's quarters and the Seeker wanted to prepare him for the warlord? He certainly couldn't think of any other reason for being taken out of the cell.

"Sit," Skywarp said firmly as Ultra Magus' lower legs bumped against the berth, and the grounder automatically obeyed. The Seeker's field was a cacophony of confusion that ranged from anger to frustration to uncertainty to _care-mine_ to things Ultra Magnus wasn't sure he could name.

"What are you planning on doing to me?" he asked, trying to puzzle out what he was teeking from the Seeker's field.

Purple wings twitched as the mech turned to walk to the corner and an energon dispenser to fill a cube. Half full at first, then he shifted uneasily and added another quarter cube to it. He looked at Ultra Magus sitting quietly on his berth and grumbled as he walked back over and shoved the cube into the grounder's hands. "Make sure you stay healthy."

Well, that was an unusual reply. Ultra Magnus stared at him blankly for a moment before taking a sip from the cube. Generally, very little thought went to the health of prisoners. What could possibly make it a concern now?

The door slid open and Thundercracker strode in. He took one look at Ultra Magnus, twitched his wings, paused when Skywarp clicked something back in Seeker cant, and nodded. Without a word he went to the computer terminal and began the process of locking it down while Skywarp continued to stare at Ultra Magnus.

The Autobot continued to drink the cube he'd been given as he studied the pair, wracking his memory banks for similar stories from returned POWs. He couldn't come up with anything.

"What do you want from me?" he asked once he finished the cube.

Skywarp glanced over at Thundercracker, who huffed, but looked up to meet Ultra Magnus' optics. "We don't want anything from you. We're taking care of that sparkling you're carrying. It's a Seeker."

Ultra Magnus' field spiked in surprise. For his sparkling? Why would they want to help the creation of an Autobot, even if it were the same model?

Skywarp's hand curled back for a strike that never landed, though his claws were out and anger flared bright and sharp in his field.

"No, no Autobot would know," Thundercracker huffed in irritation as he came over to put a hand on Skywarp's wing and hummed softly until the purple Seeker settled at his gentle strokes. "Not many Decepticons know." He considered Ultra Magnus from behind Skywarp's relaxing wing. "It's up to Starscream to tell you, if he wants you to know."

"What can you tell me, then?" The large grounder asked, getting more and more confused by their actions.

"As long as you behave well, you'll have a soft berth, warm frames, energon and supplements," Thundercracker said simply. "Cause trouble and you'll be back in that cell. You are not to leave these quarters. You are not to hack the console. You will not attack anyone who comes in these quarters." He paused. "Who is the sire?"

Ultra Magnus listened to the demands and decided cooperation was the best thing he could do for the moment. "Groundshaker." he replied.

Skywarp hissed. Thundercracker's engines rumbled with displeasure.

"Why _him_?" Skywarp demanded with impotent anger.

Ultra Magnus scowled back. "I didn't _intend_ to create with him," he retorted. "However, I couldn't destroy my own creation once I found out."

That stilled both Seekers, but it was Skywarp who muttered dark promises under his breath.

"You aren't bonded with him," Thundercracker said it as a statement. "He's no longer on Earth." He paused, seeming to really _look_ at Ultra Magnus for the first time. "Who will raise it?"

"No, he is not even aware of what came from our activities," Ultra Magnus replied. "I intend to raise it myself."

Skywarp went rigid, his wings flaring in distress. Even Thundercracker looked disturbed. 

"You aren't even a flier!" the purple Seeker exclaimed, his red optics bright. "How can a grounder raise a Seeker?"

"It _needs_ a Seeker around, or at least a combat-grade Aerial," Thundercracker insisted. "I know they're scarce on your side, but find one. You've got enough rank to be attractive if you let it known you're looking for a co-creator for a Seekerling."

"What would it need that I, its own carrier, cannot provide?" Ultra Magnus asked, no hint of mocking in his voice and his field full of sincerity.

"Knowledge of flight. Knowledge of the spark-coding that makes it _Seeker_ ," Thundercracker said firmly. "We aren't just a frame type. It's a spark-type. It will never mature into a sane adult without someone close to it that understands what it's going through. The demands unique to being Seeker."

"Someone has to teach it to fly before it frags itself trying on its own," Skywarp added, trying to be helpful.

"I will take that into consideration," Ultra Magnus said softly, his processors swimming with the information so readily given.

Skywarp gave a sharp nod and Thundercracker stepped back just in time for him to teleport away. The blue Seeker regarded his prisoner thoughtfully. "How long ago did you find out?"

"Just two orns," he replied. Barely any time for their species. And he was high enough ranked that there was little that they could change of his duties to accommodate his condition.

"How old is it now?" he pressed forward into important questions.

"A decaorn, at most," Ultra Magnus replied. "Why?"

"What supplements you need, how much energon you need, how much recharge ... _everything_." Thundercracker's engines grumbled his frustration, then he softened slightly into old sadness. "A grounder, especially a heavy model like you, carrying a Seeker to term is difficult at best. That best hasn't existed anywhere in a very long time." His wings gave a flick and he turned around to dig something out of one of the storage cabinets. "I hope you aren't expecting us to take your word that you'll behave," he turned around with a heavy chain in hand. "You'll need plenty of recharge anyway."

Ultra Magnus was curious as to what had happened for Thundercracker to react the way he did, but knew better than to ask. "I had no expectations for what would happen when I was brought here." He eyed the chain, but showed no resistance as the blue Seeker approached with it. Or when one end was attached by manacle to his ankle while the other end found a secure attachment point on the wall below the level of the berth. It was long enough that he could recharge pretty much anywhere on the berth, reach any of the platforms nearby for holding small objects, like an energon cube, but his range didn't extend much past that.

"Where do you keep the supplements you need?" Thundercracker suddenly asked.

"The medics were still trying to get them formulated for me." Ultra Magnus shrugged.

Thundercracker's wings flared, but he was too far away to tell why. A poof of air and mass being added in a sealed environment and Skywarp was there.

"Seriously?" the purple Seeker growled at him. "Now we're going to have to blackmail Hook and Mixmaster into making it."

Thundercracker gave a long suffering sigh from his vents. "How long before they are supposed to be ready?"

"They were supposed to be ready before my next duty shift, when I was going to also get my ration." Ultra Magnus replied, his optics on the darker Seeker. Apparently he was touchy on the subject of what carriers needed.

"Relax," Thundercracker put a hand on Skywarp's wing, a move that seemed to settle the dark Seeker almost immediately. "I still have Ratchet's comm. He'll give them up. He's done far more to help prisoners before."

The words soothed Skywarp the rest of the way. "Yeah, Ratchet will," he nodded agreeably.

"You want first watch?" Thundercracker offered with a knowing glance at his trine mate.

"Yeah. He's my find," Skywarp gave a nasty grin. "Soundwave is going to regret this."

Thundercracker gave another long suffering look, shook his helm and left.

Skywarp looked at Ultra Magnus, seeming a little lost. "So ... what do you do off shift?"


	2. So What Do You Do With Captured Carrier?

On a level, watching this, brushing the fields as each Seeker gave up a small portion of their ration, barely a mouthful, made Thundercracker's spark and processors settle in a way he hadn't known since Starscream had committed Vos to the Decepticon cause. There was no resentment to the giving. There was hope. Excitement. Unity. Sensations that hadn't been among them for a long time. It wasn't much to any given Seeker, but combined it gave a full carrier ration to Ultra Magnus. It kept their Seekerling well fed. Other gifts came too. Small amounts of metals. Trinkets. A few credits. IOUs against Decepticons that didn't serve the Lord of Vos but would be useful. Even though many of those giving had never seen a sparkling, their coding was still clean. They protected the future, not just with the ferocity in battle, but with their minds and wills in the right place.

Starscream entered just as Thundercracker had gathered the last donation into a cube and reached out to brush him across the bond. ~Skywarp should be here as soon as he is in recharge,~ he said as he gathered his trine's rations and claimed a table for them.

~Good,~ Thundercracker's presence and field hummed with a contentment they both had forgotten he was capable of when he joined his leader. ~He doesn't recharge enough. Is he in his nest, or on the berth?~

~Berth. He seems to prefer it when we aren't requiring it for recharge.~ Starscream noted the change in his trinemate's field, pleased at it.

~Good,~ Thundercracker settled a fraction more as he accepted his ration from his trine leader and poured his donation into Ultra Magnus' cube. It was soon followed by Starscream's and Skywarp's donations. An act that did not go unnoticed by the Seekers in the room before the cube was sealed and went into Thundercracker's subspace. ~I was not expecting him to be so compliant. His carrier protocols must be very strong.~ Approval laced around the comment.

Starscream hummed in pleased agreement. ~That will make it much easier for us. Carrying will be difficult for him anyways, and he also has much to learn about raising one of our kind.~ The Air Commander uncharacteristically did not begin drinking his cube right away, instead obviously waiting for their third to join them. It was something he hadn't done in a very long time.

It was a cue Thundercracker followed, waiting for the distinctive sound of Skywarp's appearance and for the black Seeker to sit down and claim his cube. They both noticed him check the level and nod at the slightly less than full container. "He's in recharge. He's being a very good carrier," he grinned. "No fun to boss around, but a good carrier. I think he might get bored soon though."

Starscream picked up his own cube and began to drink. "Suggestions for how to keep him reasonably occupied?" he opened the discussion, looking between the two. This was how they were supposed to be, with the wingleader listening to his trine but having the final decision. How had they gotten away from their natural dynamics?

"He has a brilliant tactical processor, and he's smart," Thundercracker opened with reasonably well-known facts about their carrier. "Perhaps strategy games. I think I might still have a couple electronic ones in storage."

"I bet he'd like that stupid one you kept trying to teach me when we first trined up," Skywarp added.

"Warlords," Thundercracker supplied with a nod.

Starscream's wings canted in approval of the suggestion. "It is complex enough to keep him occupied while not enough to cause his systems to divert extra energon to his processor." He glanced over to Skywarp. "And for your shifts with him?"

The black Seeker shifted uneasily. He didn't do quiet activities. He didn't do _ideas_. He wasn't built for it. Instead of answering, he glanced between his trinemates, silently asking for suggestions that he could accept or reject.

Starscream hummed contemplatively as he eyed his more active mate appraisingly. "We might be better off scheduling your shifts for when he goes into or comes out of recharge, where you can assist him with his needs. Energon, cleaning, at the like."

Skywarp made a face.

"It's better than reading with him, or trying to play Warlords," Thundercracker pointed out, though he did little to hide the fact that he wanted the shifts focused on the needs of their carrier. "Though really, so long as you're in the quarters with him so he can't get into trouble, you don't have to interact with him. You can do what you like."

Skywarp perked up at that, his thoughts instantly going to the pleasure of tending to a carrier.

"As tempting as it will be, I would not recommend interfacing with him," Starscream said quietly.

Skywarp's wings fell, and even Thundercracker's sank fractionally. It was Skywarp's end of the bond that was full of _confusion-near rebellion_ however. The blue Seeker accepted and understood.

"Do not mistake it for a decision lightly-made," Starscream said sternly, his field commanding, yet underlined with _understanding_. "Carrying a Seeker or not, he is a high-ranked political prisoner. There will be only so much I can do to stall his return to his comrades. Would either of you be able to watch him return to his side with a sparkling that you directly contributed to?" His gaze moved back and forth between the two of them, underlining the seriousness of his words.

Thundercracker's wings quivered at the thought, but Skywarp got a stubborn set to his.

"We can steal it back once it separates," the black Seeker insisted. "He may be the carrier, but once it's no longer dependent on him he's just another Autobot grounder. It should be raised by its own kind."

"No," Starscream responded firmly. "It would be just as likely to despise us for separating it from its carrier. Memories of such trauma run deep. We joined in this war to _stop_ such abuses to our sparklings, and I will not see it heaped upon the first Seeker sparkling in too many vorns!"

Skywarp cringed back from the fierceness in his leader's field.

"It should be raised by Seekers, but there are Autobot Seekers, traitors and outlaws though they are," Thundercracker said quietly. "If we can not keep him, and we can't short of converting him enough so he'll defect," and here the bond carried just how impossible a task Thundercracker believed that to be, "then the best thing we can do for the Seekerling is to impress upon him how important it is for _his_ creation that he have at least one Seeker involved in raising it. Even if he isn't with that Seeker in any way."

"Right," Skywarp muttered, grumpy but without the rebellion that was a precursor to acting out.

Starscream crooned soothingly, resting a hand on his wingmate's arm. "I do not expect this will be easy for any of us. I too do not wish to see it raised by others. However, I must keep in mind what is actually reasonable for us to expect and what is an impossible ideal outcome."

"That's your function," Skywarp muttered without resentment. "Why _you're_ trine leader, Air Commander, Winglord."

"We can watch from a distance as it matures," Thundercracker added quietly. "Make sure it has what it needs. It _might_ choose to join us."

"We just can not make that choice for it so young," Starscream added firmly.

"I get it," Skywarp relented. "It just sucks serious slag."

"Agreed," Starscream replied.

* * *

Ultra Magnus booted slowly, surrounded by the comfort of a large, plush berth beneath his frame and the pulse of his newspark against his own. This comfort was unusual for the Commander and he basked in it, until his awareness came back to remind him where he was. A prisoner, being held inside the Elite Trine's quarters, rather than in the prison cells. He noticed the beginning twinges of his systems searching for minerals and metals that he simply did not have in his frame.

Optics came online and he studied the room quietly, taking note of Thundercracker's presence.

"Good," the blue Seeker said gruffly, his discomfort evident in the cant of his wings and his stance even before Ultra Magnus could teek his field. "Drink." The Seeker pushed a two-thirds full cube of jet grade energon thick with additives into his hands as he sat up. "The Seekerling needs the minerals and you need the energy for it."

Ultra Magnus nodded and began to sip from the cube, struggling not to flinch or shudder at the strength of the energon as it burned through systems used to a less potent grade. It was more, _much, much_ more, than he should have received as a prisoner, and he knew better than to argue. He wasn't even going to ask where it came from, given he knew full well that the Decepticons had been rationing since arriving on Earth. This was likely as much as Thundercracker received in an orn, yet the Seeker's field only expressed unease, not hunger or anger that an Autobot prisoner was receiving as much energon as he likely did.

It was unsettling to be stared at so intently while he drank.

He was forced to pause with a grimace he couldn't suppress barely a quarter of the way through the energon. He could already feel the buzzing of excess energy through his circuits and his converters struggled to process the unusual alloys. The grimace turned to a queasy look as more of the supplements found their way to the converters, and began to back up. He quickly, but carefully, set the cube on one of the end tables by the berth and braced himself, venting heavily. 

He struggled to keep down the supplements. He had already shamed himself by being captured. He didn't need to make it worse. He took note of the sharp note of distress from Thundercracker, and suddenly there was a container, a clean container, in front of him with a steady hand and comforting, supportive field wrapping around him.

The Seeker wasn't happy, but he wasn't fighting his own coding either. Provide for the carrier. Support the carrier. Comfort the carrier. Even if you hated the carrier, the sparkling inside was more important.

"It won't go to waste if it comes up," Thundercracker promised.

"I'd rather it didn't come up in the first place," Ultra Magnus managed to say as he fought to keep his systems from purging the unfamiliar material. His frame shuddered, one large hand gripping the edge of the berth.

"That would be preferable," Thundercracker agreed before settling into his role as quiet, steady support for the struggling carrier. He didn't see him as an Autobot anymore, and part of him found that concerning. It was natural, it had prevented wars and aborted sparklings for generations, but he was in the middle of a war, this carrier was the enemy and it was not his sparkling. He had no right to do more than ensure its safety until the carrier returned home.

That didn't stop him from wanting to do far more that offer comfort through a hand on the shoulder and his field. Comfort that was readily, if unconsciously, accepted by the one it was being offered to.

A few drops of metallic fluid bubbled around Ultra Magnus' mouth at the strongest of the heaves, but slowly he began to win the fight with his own internals.

Eventually he collapsed on the berth, muscle cables relaxing as his field evened out in relief.

Thundercracker let go and looked at the energon. "You should probably consume a quarter cube at a time. Spread it out over the orn. It might settle better."

Ultra Magnus made a quiet noise of agreement. One hand came up to rub at his mouth.

"...Thank you," he murmured, optics dimming as they glanced over at the blue Seeker.

Thundercracker nodded. "For the Seekerling," he gave an excuse he was dearly hoping was the right one. Anything else was ... terrifying. He moved away to a storage compartment. "Your file says you're a tactician."

"Yes," the Commander rumbled as he slowly sat up.

"They're pretty simple, but it's more entertaining than staring at the ceiling, or talking to Skywarp," Thundercracker said before lifting an old and well-used gaming datapad from the storage compartment. "Mostly tactical sims from the Flight Academy, but I picked up a couple games too." He walked over and offered it to Ultra Magnus stiffly.

Ultra Magnus was hesitant as he reached for them, his field full of _surprise-gratitude-pleasure_ at the offering. "Thank you," he murmured for the second time that breem, his hands on the datapad careful. It was a bit small in his grip, but he was well-accustomed to dealing with standard sized pads.

"Welcome," Thundercracker said, his wings shifting uneasily before he backed away and turned to the shelf of bookfiles to select one to read.

* * *

Two orns later Ultra Magnus was making an effort to delay drinking his enriched energon to avoid the nausea and mild overcharging that came with it when Skywarp relieved Starscream as his guard. For the better part of two breems the black Seeker seemed willing to do his own thing and leave him be, but that wasn't to last. He was actually startled when the silver aft landed on the berth next to him.

"If you won't drink on your own, I'll just have to feed you," Skywarp smirked at him, his field alive with arousal and mischief.

"...Feed me how?" Ultra Magnus asked, eying the Seeker. He had quickly learned to become wary of a mischievous Skywarp and all that followed.

Instead of answering, Skywarp lifted the half-full cube to Ultra Magnus' lips and tipped it slightly. The grounder groaned, but began to sip before the liquid could spill down his face. One hand came up, trying to take the cube from the dark Seeker.

Skywarp clicked a teasing reprimand. "I'm feeding you. Now be a good carrier and drink for the sparkling."

Ultra Magnus rolled his optics, but allowed him to continue for the moment. It didn't take long for the nausea to start to hit his systems. While it wasn't as bad as the first time he had drank the supplemented energon, it was far from a pleasant experience. Skywarp stopped almost immediately, pulling the cube away gently and leaned forward to lick the small drop that trickled from the corner of Ultra Magus' mouth.

The blue and white mech instinctively leaned away from the unexpected intimacy of the move. Large blue optics immediately focused on the Seeker's face, even though his field declared his intentions quite clearly.

Desire and arousal shimmered there, easy to teek. The energon was put away before dark purple hands slid across Ultra Magnus broad chest, exploring the convoy's grill. The large mech's hands came up to grasp the exploring ones, holding them still.

"No interfacing," he rumbled. When they were taking care of him, it was almost too easy to forget that they were on the opposite side of the war. But it had come roaring back for the grounder, that the Seeker wouldn't have even wanted to touch him if he hadn't been carrying a sparkling of his type.

Skywarp startled, field, wings and features. A low rumble of engines spoke clearly of what he thought of being denied. Instead of trying to move, he spoke. "It'll be good for the sparkling, for you to overload."

"I... just can't." Not yet. Not with someone that had for so long been an enemy, still technically was despite how he had been acting these last few orns.

The normally violent and less-than-brilliant Seeker stilled, his field smoothing out, then cocked his helm to regard Ultra Magnus with dark red optics. "You can offline your optics and pretend it's someone else," he offered weakly.

"Doesn't work." The Autobot's field spoke of failed experiences at trying to do that before.

Skywarp just stared at him with open disbelief and no small amount of confusion. "How ... friction is friction. How can it not work?"

He hitched his shoulders in a shrug. "I don't know. It just hasn't for me. Too aware of who I'm with."

The Seeker huffed, then shrugged his wings and pulled his hands away as Ultra Magnus let him go. "Pity," he huffed again and stood to go dig out a handheld game for himself to play.


	3. Paying the Price

Starscream grumbled under his breath as he responded to summons by their Mighty Leader. Megatron hadn't said what it was about, though the Air Commander had little doubt that the warlord wanted to question him about the guest in the Elite Trine's quarters. 

"You called, Megatron?" he asked as he stepped into the throne room.

"Yes, you can explain why your pet troublemaker still has my VIP in your quarters," Megatron rumbled, glaring at his Air Commander will ill-concealed irritation.

"Because we are enjoying having him there," Starscream replied blithely. "I fail to see how it is a problem. He is being watched, and the Autobots would have no quibble over his treatment should he be returned."

"You are keeping him from being interrogated," Megatron rumbled. "That is a City Commander. One of the Prime's right hand mecha. He has intel nearly as valuable as Prowl or Jazz, and is not nearly so difficult to break. I do not care that he warms your berth, but you will stop preventing Soundwave and Vortex from interrogating him."

"Not until I am finished with him," Starscream replied. "Either of them would ruin him for the use I am putting him to, and I am not ready to give him up yet." The Air Commander's wings flared in challenge.

"And just what use would that be?" Megatron's optics narrowed and he straightened in response.

Starscream flicked his claws. "Why does anyone take a prisoner to their berth? I find that it is much more enjoyable when they still have some life to them, rather than the broken wrecks interrogation leaves behind."

"Your pleasure is of secondary value," Megatron rumbled, his optics boring into his Air Commander and anger flaring brightly in his field. "If you can not prioritize properly, I will take him away from you."

"Consider my trine to be softening him up in preparation, if you must," Starscream replied, optics bright as he watched the Leader of the Decepticons. "I _will not_ give him up until I am ready, and he _will_ remain with my trine until then." Starscream was well aware of the warning signs the warlord was displaying, knowing the punishment for his defiance. It didn't matter, so long as grounder and the Seekerling dependent on him remained safe and away from those who did not understand.

"You _will_ obey my orders," Megatron rose to his pedes with a growl. "You will surrender the prisoner to Vortex when his shift begins."

"I have already told you that I will _not_ give him up," Starscream replied, wings still flared. The punch was expected. It had landed or been dodged more times than either of them could count. It was almost a dance, but one than ended with Starscream in Hook's care and Megatron broody for a couple orns.

Starscream merely grunted softly as it hit, having not put much effort into dodging. He would allow Megatron to take out his fury on himself. Most of the time Megatron's fury would wear itself out on his lieutenant, and he wouldn't pursue the matter further once he considered the Seeker sufficiently punished.

It was the best protection he could give the unborn Seekerling at this point.

Let the warlord take it out on him. He was strong. He had the protection of high rank and possession of things Megatron needed too much to kill him. A screech was wrung from him as his wing was grabbed and wrenched.

That was going to _hurt_ for a while, even after repairs.

He fought back just enough to keep Megatron from taking out vital systems, or when the warlord seemed to be winding down. More cries were pulled from him, but he did not beg for mercy. No, this was no beating based in mistaken blame or a failed attempt to usurp control. He would do his duty to his people without complaint.

To the pit with anyone who didn't know or understand.

When Megatron caught him by the throat and threw him across the throne room, Starscream knew it was over. Megatron's rage had cooled, and so had his irritation. The Seekerling was safe from the interrogators so long as no one hinted that its carrier might have special intel that Megatron wanted.

"Get out of my sight," Megatron snarled at him.

"Yes, Lord Megatron," Starscream rasped as he clawed his way to his pedes, needing the wall for support and got out the door. Unlike most times when the blue Seeker thought he'd deserved the beating for some stupid reason, this time Thundercracker was there, waiting for him with a strong frame to lean on and help in diverting Hook's ire until repairs were complete.

* * *

Ultra Magnus was resting on the berth, allowing himself to drift, as the door to the trine's quarters opened and Thundercracker helped Starscream into the room. The grounder sat up with a startled gasp as he registered the Air Commander's condition. He was scuffed and scraped up with minor injuries still apparent, and distinct evidence of worse having been repaired. Ratchet would never have allowed a mech in such condition to leave his medbay. "What happened?" he rumbled, shifting closer though the chain still on his pede would prevent him from reaching the others.

"Megatron," Starscream replied. "Do not worry about it."

"Protecting the sparkling from Vortex finding it," Thundercracker added.

Skywarp made short work of unhooking the chain and tugged on Ultra Magnus' arm to get him to move. "Back to your nest. He needs the berth."

A distressed whine came from the large mech as he rose. "Didn't... don't want anyone to get hurt on our behalf."

"It's better this way," Starscream said, field determined. "You would like what Vortex would do even less."

"You have _no_ idea what that psychopath would do," Skywarp actually shivered as he tugged Ultra Magus across the room. "Do you even have any idea what it takes to make _me_ think a mecha is completely sick in the processors?"

"I am not unaware of what he does," Ultra Magnus replied. "Still don't _want_ any of you to get hurt over it." The field against Skywarp's revealed that he understood that this was the "better" of the options, but was also worried for the injured Seeker. 

Starscream let out a sigh as he settled on the berth, relaxing at the sense of safety being with his trine gave him. Even Ultra Magnus' presence did nothing to dampen it.

Skywarp attached the chain to the wall by Ultra Magnus' nest. "It's hardly the worst Megatron's done to him," he said quietly before moving to the berth and nuzzling his leader. Purple hands slid along Starscream's frame, taking in the remaining minor damage with knowing fingers while Thundercracker brought over the medical and polishing kits.

The grounder watched as Thundercracker and Skywarp worked together to finish the repairs and begin restoring the finish of their wingleader. Their cooperation was flawless, meticulous, and full of affection. It was far beyond what most Autobots would consider Decepticons capable of. The trills and hums Starscream replied with, his open and trusting frame language, was just as strange.

"...May I touch, when you are done?" he asked softly, ready to have it turned down.

Starscream hummed thoughtfully, considering the Base Commander's behavior in their care. "Yes," he conceded.

Skywarp gave Ultra Magnus a grin before focusing on polishing Starscream's left wing to a fine gleam. Thundercracker didn't say anything, but his attention was focused on kissing his leader while his hands caressed the recently abused frame.

Starscream's hum changed tone as he returned the kiss, gradually pressing into his mates' touches. 

Ultra Magnus could only watch as the Seekers soothed away the aches of Starscream's frame in the way that worked best. All three were very attractive mechs, and watching them in pleasure only reinforced it. They were relaxed with each other, trusting, caring. It was a painful reminder that Decepticons were just mecha, no different in most ways to Autobots.

It wasn't long, or maybe it was, before Starscream was buried inside Thundercracker, who was sprawled out and happy to be under him, while Skywarp was pressed against his leader's back and thrusting into a very willing valve. There could be no doubt that all three were willingly where they were. The keens of bliss echoed in the room as the three overloaded in a unison impossible outside of a deep and caring bond.

Ultra Magnus shuddered, struggling to force down his own desire. Desire not just for their frames, though he had always had a particular preference for Seekers, but for the emotional ties and support they shared with one another. Ties that were hard to come by when those around you saw you primarily as an authority figure.

Starscream had clearly made it work. As they came down, the trine snuggled and settled, nuzzling, chirring and trilling softly. Eventually Skywarp looked over at the grounder with a lazy, sated expression and crooned to his leader. With a nod the black Seeker slid out of the pile of wings and walked over to Ultra Magnus. His panel was still open, openly unconcerned about it or the smears of lubricant and transfluid that said what he'd been doing. Instead of unhooking the chain from the wall, he unlocked it from Ultra Magnus' pede.

By that time, the large mech had gotten his interface drive mostly under control, but the desire for the closeness was still prominent in his field. He stood slowly, one hand resting on Skywarp's arm as they walked to the berth. Skywarp happily snuggled against Starscream's back once more, while Starscream and Thundercracker shifted to allow the big grounder to join the pile without crushing delicate wings.

As he settled, one hand gently ran down the recently-repaired plating of Starscream's arm, _gratefulness-concern_ touching his field once more. Starscream covered the large hand with his own before shutting off his optics, clearly finding no threat in the carrier being so close.


	4. Seducing Blue

Ultra Magnus watched Thundercracker surreptitiously as the blue Seeker sat in the room with him, acting as his minder for the time being. When he had woken after Starscream's return from Megatron's tender mercies, he had tried to put out of his mind how natural it had felt to be surrounded by three frames, their fields softly entwined with his. When he could manage to put their faction out of his mind, he could easily picture them as good co-creators for the newspark nestled against his own. 

Even when considering their differing loyalties ... It would not be so bad to have more than just their protection while he was being held prisoner. Sharing pleasure with them would not hurt anything, and certainly the newspark would benefit. Not to mention any other possible contributions would be helpful as well. They would certainly be better influences on his newspark than Groundshaker ever could be.

Making up his mind, he allowed his attention to rest more obviously on Thundercracker, observing him openly for the moment. A red and white trimmed blue wing flicked, acknowledging the attention and the Seeker's awareness of it. The quietest and most reserved of the trine didn't look up, however. Not yet.

Ultra Magnus slowly stood and walked over to the Seeker, taking a seat next to him. "Thundercracker," he rumbled, his field brushing against the other's with arousal. Surprise and reflexive arousal responded even before Thundercracker looked up, his expression an open look of surprise and internal conflict.

The book file was put down and the Seeker's full attention given to Ultra Magnus. "Do you need something?"

"Would like your attentions and company," the grounder replied, reaching out to stroke a dark arm. Not forcing, not demanding, but a clear request.

Thundercracker leaned into the contact, his field more than willing. Despite every signal that said yes, he shook his helm. "It's ... not a good idea," he murmured, looking up into blue optics to remind himself of why. "You'll be traded to the Autobots soon."

"The sparkling would still benefit from influence by you and yours. Unless you think that it would be better off from influence from Autobot Seekers only," Ultra Magnus replied, continuing to stroke his arm. "The three of you are strong, smart, stable... Far better than its original sire, for all we are on different sides."

Thundercracker shivered, his engines whining as his ventilations picked up. "If we do contribute, we will not let it go."

"You would not need to contribute. That would only happen if you overload inside me," the large mech coaxed, his field dancing with desire. "Skywarp pointed it out. I was not ready then, but I have thought on it since."

Cooling fans whirled to life, though at a low setting. A moment of hesitation, seeking permission from his leader, and Thundercracker nodded. He stood, his fingers sliding up Ultra Magnus' arm as he did so. "What would you like to do?"

Ultra Magnus leaned in to kiss him, then pulled back just enough for their lips to brush as he spoke. "Want to see what you will do."

Blue wings shivered before Thundercracker leaned forward to continue the kiss before lightly tugging Ultra Magnus to the berth. Strong, sure hands guided the much larger grounder to his back before Thundercracker settled over him. Black hands slid down his grill.

"The best results are with a slow build," Thundercracker rumbled, digging his fingers into the spaces in Ultra Magnus' grill. "And unlike Skywarp, I have the patience for it."

Ultra Magnus' engine gave a rev at that. White hands stroked blue sides as both their plating began to heat under the attention of an old, familiar dance both remembered well. 

Thundercracker didn't leave the grill until he'd begun to wring moans from his partner, only then did his hands move lower, exploring as he went. It was a torture when everything from his frame to his protocols was screaming at him to release his spike and sink into the valve that he knew craved it.

Ultra Magnus held nothing back from the Seeker, his field weaving into the mech's above him to share the pleasure of touch. White hands shifted to stroking shoulder vents as the rest of Thundercracker moved out of his grasping range. To make up for it, Ultra Magnus tried to wrap a leg around Seeker to hold him close. He shifted the leg away at the spike of tension it created, belatedly realizing that it could feel like being trapped too.

Dark red optics dimmed with the soft pleasure as Thundercracker began to hum. Lowering his frame further he slid his glossa along Ultra Magus' thick neck cables.

The grounder gasped at it, his fingers tightening briefly on blue plating. His hip plates rocked up, valve cover opening in a silent plead for attention. "More," he rumbled as he pressed up into the Seeker's touches. Thundercracker complied, working his glossa along and then in between thick neck cables to stroke at ones deeper inside.

"We have some toys that can fill that, if you want," Thundercracker rumbled lustfully.

"Toy, you, something, _please_ ," Ultra Magnus moaned, fingers scraping along blue plating as his hips bucked up again. Now that he allowed himself to acknowledge it, desire for the Seeker and his trine ran rampant through his field, arousal causing it to flare hotly.

Thundercracker trilled, a gentle sound meant to sooth and reassure as he pulled away. "Touch yourself," he whispered hotly in Ultra Magnus' audial before slipping from the berth completely. White thighs spread and blue hips tilted to give Thundercracker a better view as Ultra Magnus' fingers stroked around his valve before one slid in, pumping into wet heat. He groaned and rocked into the touch, quickly adding a second and then a third finger.

"You make a good show," Thundercracker rumbled as he returned to kneel between Ultra Magnus' spread legs, a thick false spike in hand. His black hand slid over the white one, drawing it away before teasing the valve's opening with the tip of the false spike as big as Ultra Magnus' own.

The grounder whined and thrust his hips up, trying to take the false spike into his valve. "Please," he asked again, not caring what he sounded like. He was rewarded by a deep rumble from the mech above him and the exquisite slide and stretch of the thick false spike into him.

"Have you always preferred your valve?" Thundercracker asked with a rumble deep in his chest.

"Yes," he hissed. Pleasure rolled through his frame and field as his valve rippled eagerly around its prize. He reached out with his field again, sharing his desire for the mech above him. He could feel Thundercracker's arousal, the returned desire, the _want_ the Seeker was holding in tight check in favor of sliding the false spike in and out, shifting the angle to rub against different sensor nodes.

Ultra Magnus whimpered and moaned in pleasure, driven past coherent thought. He continued to roll his hips in time with Thundercracker's movements as charge crackled along his plating until it was too much and he overloaded with a cry.

He drifted back to awareness, feeling content, though not completely sated, and finally registered the distinct lack of another frame nearby. A glance showed Thundercracker putting the cleaned toy away, and the Seeker's wings were twitching minutely.

"Thundercracker?" he asked softly, sitting back up. 

Blue wings twitched more violently and the Seeker paused. "Not sated?"

"Don't want to leave you unsatisfied, unless you would rather your mates handle it," he admitted.

"It would be better that way," Thundercracker said, the sub harmonics one of a mecha trying to convince himself as much as his listener. "You'll be leaving soon."

The City Commander nodded, quietly accepting the explanation for the moment. The silence lingered uneasily as Thundercracker picked up his datapad once more.

One breem passed, a second, a third. Ultra Magnus shifted uncomfortably in his place on the berth. Finally, he couldn't take the silence anymore. "Have you had a sparkling before?" he asked softly, aware that it probably would be a sensitive subject.

The twitch of wings backed that up. "We raised two. Neither still function," Thundercracker managed to keep his voice from crackling at the old pain.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, spark aching for the lives lost and the pain the other was in. "If you don't mind me asking... who carried?"

"Starscream's our carrier," he answered with a much softer tone and cant to his wings. "If you ever wanted proof that the war destroys societies, our trine is it. Our Vision is an Order, our Order is acting as an Action."

"What does that mean?" Ultra Magnus asked softly, slowly rising to move next to Thundercracker. He knelt next to the Seeker, a hand coming to rest on the other's plating as he sought to understand what the trine had been through.

Dark red optics regarded him. "No, I don't suppose any Seekers you have are still sane enough to pass that kind of detail on. Trines aren't just three mecha who like each other, like bonded grounders might. Each has a purpose in the trine and is selected to fill that purpose. Order is the trine leader, but also the trine guard. It's their duty to determine when to have a sparkling and to protect the carrier and then the sparkling in the aerie. The Vision, the right wing, is the thinker, the carrier, the creative one. The Action is the left wing. In the early orns they hunted, they are the provider and the one who met a threat at a distance, while the Order remained back to defend the aerie. In more modern times they're the one that would work away from the aerie. Skywarp's not a very good Action, really. But we had enough rank and wealth that his gift outweighed his faults. We're a very messed up trine, and we aren't even that badly off compared to some formed during the war."

Ultra Magnus made a soft, sympathetic noise as his field reached out, trying to offer comfort to the blue Seeker and felt Thundercracker sink into it, needing the comfort far more than even he dared to admit. "Far too many have had to go against their programming," he agreed.

"Starscream pointed out once that the legal definition of a mecha that goes against their core programming is terminally insane," Thundercracker sighed through his vents, a blast of scalding hot air that spoke of how aroused his systems still were. "Only cure that was ever found was being wiped clean."

"What was it like, Vos and the Seekers?" Ultra Magnus asked, wanting to know. To maybe learn enough to help ease the pain in Thundercracker's spark. Or at least something that he could make sure was passed down to the newspark he could feel fluttering against his own.

"Open skies, nothing to fear, and so many wings," Thundercracker's focus drifted off to memories he normally kept safely sequestered. "We were nobility, Starscream's sire was the fourth creation of the second creation of the Winglord. Nowhere near the prospects of becoming Winglord, but we had the wealth, prestige and status to do as we pleased with little concern for how it might be paid for. Starscream delved into the hard sciences. I went to philosophy. Skywarp enjoyed being young. You'd never know it now, but he was the young one, barely a fully mature mech when we began fighting. Barely trine. He's brilliant, you know. Smarter than Starscream, believe it or not. He could have been something amazing, but the war meant he had to always be prepared to teleport, and that meant always leaving the protocols on. The few times he turned them off his own empty intellect scared him so badly he won't even consider it now."

"Why did you decide to fight?" Ultra Magnus' voice was soft, hands rubbing soothingly along black forearms.

"Nowhere else to go," Thundercracker's wings shivered slightly. "The pact was made by the former Winglord. When Sentinel Prime ordered Vos to be leveled, so many of the nobility extinguished. I'm not sure if Starscream or the survivors were more shocked when the Winglord coding activated in him. It ... to force a Vision to be Winglord ... I can't even explain how badly it shredded his coding. But the needs of our kind outweigh the needs of the few, so he took it and we do our best to cope with it. When we tried to approach Sentinel Prime we were fired on, a trap. They didn't count on Skywarp's ability to teleport us away. With no city, no haven, the Prime declaring us enemies of the empire, there weren't many places to go. Megatron already had the trust of many of the warrior caste. He was the best choice out of a very limited set of prospects."

"And why did you continue to fight, once Sentinel Prime and the Council were gone?" Ultra Magnus continued in the same voice.

"Why did _you_?" Thundercracker turned the question around. "You'd lost. Your entire government was gone. We were getting ready to settle and rebuild when this new Prime called on everyone to fight again, and you fought. So we fought back."

"Perhaps you were willing to settle down, but Megatron was not. Even after the deaths of Sentinel Prime and the Council, he continued his quest to destroy everything that had been, to steal and kill any civilian that happened to be in his path," Ultra Magnus replied softly, his field heavy with barely-remembered experience. "That was before the Matrix came anywhere near Optimus."

"But it wasn't until Optimus called on the war to continue that _we_ were on the front lines again," Thundercracker hissed. "You can't switch sides after winning the first war, and most of the warrior caste was still with Megatron anyway."

"And so, must we live in a world where large segments of our people suffer in oppression for the fighting to stop?" Ultra Magnus asked quietly, rhetorically. "I _want_ to try to understand what your trine has been through. To learn at least a little of this sparkling's heritage," he continued before Thundercracker could reply.

"We do anyway, for the fighting to continue," Thundercracker pointed out, his anger largely sapped. "Is this really so much better?"

"No, it is not," Ultra Magnus murmured. "Can't we try to make something better?"

"Any effort to withdraw would require enough powerful mecha to keep both sides away despite their anger and the charges of treason and desertion," Thundercracker responded calmly. "Any effort to end the war will fail while both leaders function. I don't expect it will end while Prowl, Ironhide or Jazz still functional either, at least on your side. Soundwave, Shockwave and a few others will have to be put down over here."

"Nothing will change if no one is willing to talk, to _listen_ ," Ultra Magnus said quietly. "That is something _we_ can do. It may not have a large or immediate impact, but it would be something. Tell me more about your sparklinghood?"

"I don't remember much of it," Thundercracker admitted quietly. "There was a lot of time with my creators. We didn't have the rank that Starscream's did, but we were still important enough to visit the royal palace once or twice a vorn and for every big event. I was there when Starscream was presented as a sparkling. He was beautiful even then. I doubt you ever saw him, any of us, without these war frame upgrades, but we weren't always this heavy. Flying with my age-mates, visiting the crystal gardens when my creators visited Praxus, and later on my own. Before Starscream I actually courted a Praxian. She was a lovely, fierce little thing. Fast and agile in a way that put even most Seekers built for racing to shame. Mostly, though, I remember my creator's aerie and feeling safe there. I never saw the conditions that created the war, created Megatron. I know they must have existed in Vos, but I never saw or heard of it."

"Were there any traditions you remember? Celebrations?" Ultra Magnus' hands unconsciously smoothed over plating, as if touching the Seeker would let him feel and experience the other's memories for himself. One of those moving hands brushed over the cover for his spike.

"Rite of the Storm Flight," Thundercracker shivered under the touch and the memory, his panel sliding open and his spike extending quickly against the large white hand. "Every noble and warrior _had_ to, but most everyone joined in. When the electrical storms were at their peak, everyone took to the skies. A dare to the storm to force us down. We were out to prove that we were as we claimed, masters of the skies."

"What was it like, to fly in such weather?" Ultra Magnus' hand closed around the spike, slowly stroking it. Thundercracker's helm rolled back with a groan.

"Terrifying. Exhilarating. Social," he shivered again. "Flying in such close quarters, with so many kin, everyone excited, showing off, a bit afraid. It was amazing."

"What did it feel like, the wind on your wings, the charge in the air?" the grounder asked as his hand continued to move.

Thundercracker moaned, his hips rolling into the touch slightly. "Erotic. Oh Primus, it's the most erotic thing I've ever felt. Matched only by that first time I saw Starscream spread his wings for it. He was stunning, the charge shimmering along white and red plating. I caught him when he overloaded. It was amazing."

"And what was it like, to watch him fly?" Ultra Magnus' voice grew husky as his pace quickened, his grip tightening slightly with each stroke.

"I'd never wanted anything so badly in my life," he shuddered and arched slightly, his ventilations sharp and deep as the first wisps of energy began to crackle along his plating. "He caught every optic, even those who had a full trine. Grace, speed, agility ... absolutely stunning," he moaned deeply as his hands found the edge of the table and gripped it hard. His optics were on but he didn't see anything, his processors in that long ago time. "He could have had anyone."

"And he chose you to fly with," the large grounder murmured.

"Yes," Thundercracker panted, his frame beginning to curl into the strokes. "Mine. Worked so hard to court him."

Ultra Magnus' pace continued to pick up, the large mech caught up in the sight, sound, _feel_ of the moment. "How did you court him?"

"A lot of time," Thundercracker moaned, his grip making the table creek. "Gifts. Little things, trinkets. Polishing his wings. Proving I was a good leader and protector." He gasped as a surge of energy raced through him. "Had to fight his creator-Order."

"Must have done well," Ultra Magnus rumbled, "to be worthy of such a mate." His optics were bright with anticipation from the pleasure rolling off the Seeker. Thundercracker was past words, beyond responding as he roared, turbines thundering. Energy crackled around Ultra Magnus' hand, dancing between his palm and the dark blue and red spike he was stroking. Transfluid surged out, splattering Thundercracker's plating, the table and dripping onto Ultra Magnus' hand.

A hand that slowed, then released the spike. Arousal wove in Ultra Magnus' field once more from the sight of the spent Seeker, but he ignored it in favor of quietly waiting for Thundercracker to recover.

"Do I get a show in return?" the deep voice rumbled, a distinct reminder of his designation even before optics lit again.

"What kind of show do you want?" Ultra Magnus asked, his own voice rumbling back.

A low, deep chuckle replied. "Whatever really gets you off. All the toys are in the same place if you want to use them."

"Alright," he replied, standing and striding to the storage compartment. The large mech rummaged around a moment before pulling out a vibrating false-spike, closer in size to what the Seekers sported than himself.

Ultra Magnus then returned to the berth sitting on the edge facing Thundercracker with his legs spread. His engine growled as he began stroking himself with the false spike and his free hand, starting with his chest. He moaned as fingers and the tip of the toy worked their way into seams and against sensors, then gasped as he turned on the vibrator in the false-spike. His hand worked its way down to his thigh, stroking the seam there as the false-spike worked its way down his abdomen to press against the cover for the large mech's own spike. His hips rocked into the touch with a rev of his engines, blue optics locked on the Seeker across from him. He was suitably pleased by the way dark red optics were locked on him, the wings fanning slightly and fans already whirring to life. The cloth Thundercracker had been cleaning himself with forgotten in one hand.

"Talk to me," he demanded. "Tell me what you would do to me."

A shiver passed down Thundercracker's frame as his processor stalled slightly on the demand. It was only a brief moment before he gave in.

"I'd push you back and bind your hands so all you could do is watch and feel," Thundercracker rumbled deeply, his processors back to another time, a different mech, but the same sire-drive. "Spread your knees wide and stroke the seams near your panel, teasing, building you up slowly until you're mewling for more."

Ultra Magnus spread his thighs wider, as far as they would go. His hand and the false spike followed Thundercracker's words, digging into the seams near his panel. The vibrations and knowing touches wrung moans of desire from him, optics dimming in pleasure even as they remained locked on the blue Seeker.

"I'd kiss your spike cover even as my fingers slid across your valve cover, playing with it, testing to see how hot you were," Thundercracker's voice deepened, his optics locked on Ultra Magnus' medium blue interface panels.

The grounder whimpered and squirmed, the false spike circling over the spike cover as white fingers did much the same with the valve cover.

"How hot are they?" Thundercracker purred, deep and sultry. "Hot enough to sting? Hot enough to open on their own? I'll keep touching, teasing, with my fingers, lips and glossa until I get them both open."

"Burning," Ultra Magnus gasped as the covers snapped over on their own, his spike automatically extending. The rumble of Thundercracker's engines, deep and powerful as the storms he took his designation from, rolled over the grounder.

"Oh, yes, lovely, and all mine," Thundercracker continued, allowing the lust and want to color his vocal harmonics deeply. "I kiss my way up your spike with teasing little licks while my fingers stroke that nest of platelets until they're drenched in your lubricant and you're quaking under such light touches."

The false-spike teased its way up the blue spike while Ultra Magnus' fingers ran lightly over the platelets surrounding his valve. Over and over as the large mech began to tremble, whimpers giving way to soft cries of need.

"I love those sounds, knowing I can draw them out," Thundercracker shivered, his engines revving high and his spike once more hard. His frame wanted for him to do much more than just talk. "As much as I love drawing this out, making you plead for my spike, my mouth, my valve, sometimes I just don't have the patience. One thrust seats me fully inside you and we both still, enjoying the stretch, the heat, the slick fullness."

Ultra Magnus cried out loudly as he suddenly sank the vibrating false-spike into his valve, as deep as it would go. His calipers clenched around the welcome intruder, pleasure flaring along his circuits as the white and blue mech gave himself over entirely to the moment. Thundercracker's voice washed over him, the low rumble heightening the pleasure even when he wasn't catching the words.

_Thrust_

He got that one. Repeated over and over.

The hand holding the false-spike moved with it, driving, harder...

Ultra Magnus' body locked up, a horse cry ripped from his vocalizer as he overloaded around the false-spike.

Thundercracker's gasp was of surprise, a sound of desire mixed with how quick it had come for the other mech. He groaned, shivering and rumbling wordlessly as he waited for Ultra Magnus to recover enough to notice him.

"You overload so quick, I keep thrusting, slow and deeply, while my hand finds your spike and strokes it," Thundercracker panted. "I want to see transfluid splattering over your plating as I overload. My thumb rubs around the head of your spike, ghosting across the slit before my fist strokes down."

Ultra Magnus moved his hands to suit the Seeker's words, moaning as pleasure started building once more. "So good, so good..."

"That's how I like it, pleasure coming in from all sides," Thundercracker groaned, his optics bright and fixated. "You so revved up you can't stand it. The charge high enough to hurt. The way your valve squeezes around me, trying to hold on but unable to get a grip because you're so slick. The feel of that hot, thick spike in my hands as I rub it. So close. So very close. Overload for me," his voice had lowered, rumbling thunder in how aroused he was. "I have to hear how good it feels."

Ultra Magnus couldn't resist the command in that voice, crying out as he overloaded again. Fluid spurted from the tip of his spike, covering his abdominal plates and hand. His vents cycled furiously as came down from the high, relaxing back on the berth.

Suddenly, the door to the quarters opened and Starscream stepped in. His engines revved high as he took in the scene and the lust rolling off his trinemate. He barely had long enough to fully register what was going on before his back was slammed against the wall by their door and Thundercracker's burning frame and hard spike rubbed against him. Hungry lips claimed his in a kiss as demanding as the red and white Seeker could remember.

Starscream moaned at the assault, arms coming around stroke-scratch at Thundercracker's wings even as his valve cover popped open. Thundercracker wasted no time in pressing into it with a groan and shudder. He was so hot, his need an inferno through the bond and across their fields, bringing Starscream's arousal up with it. The white Seeker shivered, valve rippling around the well-known spike.

"He got you this worked up, hmm?" Starscream managed to say after a break in the kiss before nipping at Thundercracker's mouth.

"You have no idea," he groaned, thrusting lightly with the kind of self-control that only came in protection of his trine. He knew his mate wasn't ready to be ravished yet. "Sire-coding's acting up fierce."

Starscream's valve grew slick quickly, clenching in time with his mate's thrusts as the pace picked up. ~And what say you?~

~Want to. It wasn't an unknown practice, once.~ He admitted without shame. ~Politically it's suicide for all five of us right now.~

~Once we get you settled and _him_ in recharge, we can discuss and plot, my Thunder,~ Starscream said, drawing Thundercracker into another kiss. He rocked his hips into his mate's, silently demanding more, harder.

The deep rumbling of Thundercracker's engines were the only response as he gave himself over completely to the spike-centric lust that the sire protocols encouraged, losing himself willingly in the embrace, the pleasure and the security that was his trine mate.


	5. Planning the Impossible

Skywarp made short work of bribing/blackmailing Acid Storm into taking his shift in the command center so he could join his trine for a conversation that had both of them excited and more than a little stressed. It wasn't a combination that should exist when combined with the sated calm of post multiple overloads. He popped in to Starscream and Thundercracker wrapped around each other, with Thundercracker's right wing resting over Ultra Magnus protectively.

~Hey, what's up?~ he prodded the bond until it opened fully and they shifted to allow him to snuggle against Starscream's back. Non-Seekers thought they were protecting their leader, but every Seeker knew they were protecting their Vision, the carrier of their creations and the weakest of their members.

~We are discussing the possibility of claiming the sparkling as ours. If it can be done and how,~ Starscream explained, even as he let out a contented sigh for having his mates on either side and pressed close.

~So who 'faced the carrier?~ he asked with an unrepentant grin even as he hummed and trilled into the snuggle.

~No one, yet,~ Thundercracker answered, though he didn't hide how near a thing it was. ~He was trying though, asking for us to contribute.~

~He got Thundercracker very worked up. I was pounced as soon as I entered the room,~ Starscream added, amusement glittering in his optics.

~That was _after_ he stroked me off too,~ Thundercracker grumbled in good humor. ~But I always get so hot remembering courting our Star,~ he nuzzled the Seeker in the middle affectionately. ~You were so beautiful, so sleek without the warframe. I miss it.~

Starscream nuzzled him back. ~There is much to be missed of what was. However, it is the future that needs our attention.~

~Yes. I warned him that if we contribute, we won't let it go,~ Thundercracker mulled over it. ~I'm not sure he was capable of grasping what I meant. He was very wound up, and I wasn't much better, having a carrier proposition me.~

The Seeker in the middle hummed. ~So if we were to decide to try, we would need to discuss it when his processors are as clear as they can get. Before that, we must decide on if and how we could make it work as co-creators.~

~The humans have a tradition when creators separate. They periodically exchange the creation,~ Thundercracker offered uncertainly. In front of no one else would he admit to paying attention to humans, but this was his trine. If he could not trust them, he was better off in the Well.

Starscream's field buzzed as he considered that. ~Skywarp, do you think you could get in close enough to the Autobot base for an exchange?~

~Easily,~ the black Seeker huffed. ~I got into his quarters earlier. I just need to know where and when.~

~And would you two be content with such an arrangement?~ Starscream asked.

~No, but I could accept it,~ Skywarp gave a deep huff. ~Content is having it with us always, like it should be.~

~The same,~ Thundercracker agreed. ~If he is willing to be reasonable about how often and how long we will have it.~

Starscream hummed, carefully weighing the risks with their desires. Several long moments passed before he decided. ~Then we will speak with him.~

~What if he goes back on his word?~ Thundercracker brought up uneasily. It was his wing over the carrier, his weakness that brought this conversation on, but he still doubted. It was still an Autobot grounder, a ranking one at that. ~A sparkling we helped created and are bonded to would be an invaluable hostage. And if Megatron ever found out...~

~I'll merge with him first, determine his intentions,~ Skywarp offered. ~One merge, no transfluid. It won't be enough to create a bond with the newspark. I might feel bad if it's hurt, but I won't _hurt_.~

Starscream twisted his helm to kiss Skywarp in response, love flowing over the bond. ~Let us wake him, then.~

Thundercracker added a deep rumbling hum of thanks before he shifted and nudged Ultra Magus on the shoulder. The large grounder groaned softly at the nudge, just before his systems began to power up. The trine waited patiently for their fourth to power his optics on.

"Fully coherent?" Thundercracker asked seriously.

Ultra Magnus blinked up at him for a moment as he got his processor in order, then replied. "Yes."

"We need to talk," Thundercracker continued, the subharmonics indicating all four of them and it was serious. "Do you need energon first?"

"It would be better to wait on energon, if it is a serious subject," Ultra Magnus said softly, sitting up slowly and facing the Seekers. "What is it you want to discuss?" He looked at all three of them equally.

"When you approached me, you wanted us to contribute to the Seekerling you're carrying. I warned you that if we did, we would not let it go," Thundercracker began. "We are prepared to discuss the terms of such an arrangement if you still want us to contribute. We won't deny you overloads or attention if that is all you want."

Ultra Magnus nodded, blue optics focused on Thundercracker. "If something could be worked out, I would not object to your trine being the co-creators for the sparkling. I assume you have a suggestion, since you brought it up?"

"Exchanging the sparkling periodically," he nodded. "You would raise it, you have to given the current politics, but it would be with us one night out of three?"

The blue and white grounder hummed as he thought it over. It really wasn't an unreasonable request for sharing the sparkling, and if anything was balanced in his favor. "There is a way for it to be safely transferred that often?"

"That's my job," Skywarp piped up. "Just have the sparkling where it should be at the right time, and I'll be in and out before Red Alert has a clue."

"And you swear on your honor that you will abide by the agreement?" Ultra Magnus' field reached out to theirs, needing the reassurance. Just because he felt they were the best choice of co-creators didn't mean he had entirely lost his reasoning ability. Both sides would need to trust that the other would pass off the sparkling at the agreed-upon time.

A flicker of surprise crossed the trine before Thundercracker reached out to mesh their fields, every line of him deadly serious. "On our honor as Seekers, we will abide by the agreement the four of us come to."

"Then your suggestion is one I can agree to," Ultra Magnus replied solemnly.

"We won't hurt the Seekerling by keeping it from its carrier," Starscream added quietly. "That was one reason we went to war in the first place, to stop the sparklingnappings."

"It would be distressed to be kept from any of its creators," Ultra Magnus said softly, reaching out to take one of Starscream's hands in his. Blue fingers closed around white in a silent understanding.

"How difficult will it be for you to be outside the city that often?" Thundercracker asked. "While Skywarp can get into your quarters, Metroplex is not happy about it. If we can avoid that kind of attention, it would be best."

"Yeah, I got a very blunt warning last time that he _will_ find a way to stop me," Skywarp added. "I don't want it common knowledge that I can get in, or it'll get back to Megatron."

Ultra Magnus blinked at the admission of Skywarp's abilities, startled that the Seeker could get in so close. "It would not be so difficult as to be unfeasible," he said after a long moment processing that. "We could then leave Skywarp's ability to get in to my quarters for if there's an emergency."

"Agreed," Starscream nodded and Skywarp's wings quivered, then sagged in relief.

"We can arrange the next meeting with each encounter," Thundercracker suggested. "I doubt any of our existences is stable enough for more than that."

Ultra Magnus nodded in agreement. "We are all too high-ranked." He glanced between the three Seekers. "Are there any other concerns?"

Thundercracker let out a low, stressed vent. "We have to end the war before it is a mechling."

In those few words, spoken to a ranking Autobot officer, the once-Order of the Winglord's trine sealed the fate of his entire kind. It could not be un-spoken, the intent could not be undone.

"I am no longer capable of carrying. Becoming Winglord stripped that of me," Starscream said very quietly. "The Seeker that you are carrying will be my heir."

"Then an heir you will have," Ultra Magnus murmured as his hand came up to stroke the Winglord's cheek and smiled when the normally abrasive mech pressed into it with open gratitude. "I promise I will do what I can on my end. Optimus will not be hard to convince."

"Even though it will require granting amnesty to all Decepticons, an equal share of resources, positions of power and fair laws?" Thundercracker asked, trying to impress upon the Autobot just what needed to happen. "We are not asking him to surrender, but neither will we."

"He is the Prime, in many ways that Sentinel never fully was," the grounder said quietly. "Fairness and freedom for _everyone_ has always been his goal. Most of his other officers may be a harder sell, but the division amongst our people pains him every orn."

Thundercracker nodded. "We will work on Megatron, one way or another."

Skywarp glanced between the other three. "So now?"

"Energon first," Starscream insisted. "He means interfacing," he clarified as he pointed to the half cube on the side table by Ultra Magnus. "You'll need the energy."

Arousal spiked along the edges of Ultra Magnus' field at the mention of interfacing, and he reached for the energon. He carefully drank a quarter of it, shuddering at the unpleasant feeling of his systems trying to reject the supplements at first. He set the cube back on the table and vented carefully for several long moments, focused on forcing his body to accept the needed materials.

The trine gave him time, though they occupied themselves with shifting Skywarp from the far side to next to Ultra Magnus, stroking his wings and kissing him to heighten his arousal. While the grounder settled, Skywarp gently stroked his grill, teasing and exploring.

Ultra Magnus moaned softly into the touches, reaching out to return them on the dark Seeker. He leaned forward, catching Skywarp's mouth in a kiss that quickly deepened as fans whirled to life. He could feel it in Skywarp's field, that the Seeker had desired him for a long time.

"Open up," Skywarp gasped as he broke the kill for a moment to speak and tap Ultra Magus' chest plates.

Arousal spiked and Ultra Magnus obeyed, chest plates opening to reveal an ice-blue spark, the faint glimmer of a tiny newspark orbiting it within the casing. Black chestplates parted in the same motion that moved the cockpit to the side, revealing Skywarp's slightly darker blue spark.

The Seeker trembled faintly, glancing at his trinemates for support before lowering himself to allow their coronas to mingle. Ultra Magnus trembled under him at the first sense of the Seeker. Emotions were the first, apprehension mixed with anticipation and acceptance. From Skywarp came unease, a vague sense of betraying his trine, and determination.

A burst of fear came from the Seeker, he gritted his denta, and suddenly swayed. 

A questioning pulse along their mingled sparks, then a gasp as he got a sense of Skywarp's full potential. The intellect that bloomed on the far side of the building merge was intense, sharp and intensely predatory. Though he felt Skywarp rein in the strongest of his instincts, there was no mistaking the spark joining his own for anything other than a very strong Seeker.

Ultra Magnus shuddered, amazed. None of his previous Seeker lovers had been so intense.

~They were all insane,~ Skywarp spoke over the growing connection, tendrils from their spark cores connecting, each sending a jolt of pleasure into both mechs. ~Not one Autobot Seeker has a trine.~

~You are amazing,~ Ultra Magnus replied, hands stroking black plating. ~And none of them will be sire to this sparkling.~

~We will,~ Skywarp said before his consciousness dove into Ultra Magnus', searching, prodding, sweeping through like the airborne predator on the hunt that he was.

Ultra Magnus' hands automatically clutched at the Seeker's sides at the uncontested invasion. Thoughts and emotions regarding the sparkling, and the Seekers' involvement with it, weren't hard to find. There was no duplicity there, but admiration and appreciation for the kind of creators they could be.

All this was fed to the rest of Skywarp's trine in real time, and it wasn't long before Ultra Magnus felt Thundercracker's presence, then Starscream's join the merge, though at a distance. Above him Skywarp moaned and relaxed, surrendering to the merge and the pleasure washing through him.

Ultra Magnus groaned at the spreading pleasure, his consciousness pressing closer to get a better sense of the Seeker so intimately entwined with him. He was welcomed to it. Skywarp felt he had nothing to hide. Not in his desire for the convoy class mech that had led him to the cell that joor, a simple attraction to dominating such a powerful frame. Nor in his reasoning for going first, being that he was best able to take the ache from the single merge if Ultra Magnus had been thinking to betray them. Not even his view of the carrier as a second-class citizen was hidden. It was the truth when he'd grown up, and among the Decepticons, it was still true. Grounders were not valued the way Seekers were. Yet also in there was a willingness to view Ultra Magnus as something more, a special rank occasionally granted by a trine that could not have sparklings of their own. More than a lover, less than trine, it was an honored position, even if it was not that of an equal.

It brought up related desires within the grounder. A general, background admiration and desire for Seekers that went back to younglinghood and mechlinghood memories, most of which were fragmented and corrupted beyond recognition. But also a desire for this trine specifically. Affection and attraction that had developed as he spent time with them, being cared for by them, learning about them.

Skywarp shuddered and moaned before assaulting Ultra Magnus' mouth in a fevered kiss. His spike slid out between them, noted but ignored as a natural reaction to being with a carrier. He was a strong Seeker; the drive to have creations was intense when his processors were fully his own.

Ultra Magnus kissed him back hotly, his valve cover sliding open in response. He _wanted_ Skywarp and the rest of the trine, wanted them to be the sires to his newspark. His joy at the agreement he felt through Skywarp's spark from all three of them was unabashed and genuine.

With another shudder Skywarp plunged their sparks together deeper, past the point of thought to where it was only pleasure and overloaded with a sharp cry. Ultra Magnus cried out and arched up as he overloaded with him, electric pleasure washing over his frame and feeding the newspark close to his.

He was venting heavily when they came down, every muscle cable lax under Skywarp's frame, enjoying the warmth and weight of the Seeker's lax frame over him.

"Have enough stamina to take the rest of us?" Thundercracker rumbled, his spike extended and eager.

The grounder's engine revved at that, and instead of answering he leaned over to capture the blue Seeker's mouth in a blazing kiss. His engine revved again when it was returned just as fiercely. There was a silent squabble as Starscream tried to drag Skywarp off him, eventually managing to replace the black and purple Seeker.

"His spike, my spark," Starscream grinned down at Ultra Magnus.

"I'll also want your spike and his spark," Ultra Magnus rumbled, one hand coming up to stroke over Starscream's cockpit, the other reaching for and stroking Thundercracker's spike.

"Hey, what about my spike?" Skywarp whined, his processors back to their normal use.

"He'll get that too," Thundercracker moaned, reluctantly moving Ultra Magnus' hand away so he could get between the grounder's legs and tease the bared valve with his fingers.

"And I want your spike," Starscream rumbled, his fingers exploring Ultra Magnus' grill.

"Want _everything_ ," Ultra Magnus growled, hips pressing into Thundercracker's touch. He pulled Starscream down into a kiss, glossa tangling heatedly with the white Seeker's.

"At this rate, we aren't going to have the rations to fly," Skywarp seemed almost gleeful at the prospect as he watched Starscream kiss their carrier passionately while Thundercracker lined his spike up and sank into a carrier for the first time since before he became a warrior.

"Forgot how good this feels," the blue Seeker moaned, shuddering as he seated himself, interface panels flush, and stilled for a moment against the intense rush of reproductive protocol driven pleasure.

Ultra Magnus gasped into the kiss, valve eagerly clutching at the spike filling it. It felt so good, having his chosen sires around him, focusing on him. His field wrapped around them, desire raging. "Please," he whimpered against Starscream's mouth.

Once committed, Starscream had no more resistance to indulging his carrier than his mates had to him so long ago. His chestplates unlocked and began to part, eager and willing for the merge to come and to pour his energy into the sparkling that would soon feel him as a creator.

Ultra Magnus' chestplates were still open from the merge with Skywarp, and a large white hand urged the Seeker closer as soon as the bright blue spark was visible. Starscream groaned as their coronas danced across each other, sinking into the pleasure and the protocols designed to allow them all to overload far more often and faster than normal for the good of the sparkling they were supporting.

Between their legs Thundercracker began to thrust, one hand on Ultra Magus' hip, the other reaching forward to write erotic and affectionate glyphs on Starscream's wings.

"Yes," Ultra Magnus moaned, spark welcoming the Seeker's. Pleasure rose quickly, hips trying to rock into Thundercracker's thrusts as he pressed up into Starscream's chest.


	6. Can I Have Reality Back Now, Please?

For once, Megatron was not looking forward to answering Prime's hail when he had a prisoner really worth something in trade. A City Commander was worth almost as much as a full medic, but this one, this time ... whatever _had_ possessed his Elite Trine? It seemed like all the Seekers were acting a little loopier than usual, and that was saying something for some of them.

After a deep huff and moment to compose himself, Megatron nodded to Soundwave to put the comm on the main screen.

"Welcome, Prime. So good to see you," Megatron put on his best sneer. "What can you do for me today?"

"You can return my Base Commander, Megatron," the Matrix Bearer rumbled, optics on his long-time adversary.

"Now what would be the fun in that? " Megatron smirked a bit more. "Besides, that's not something you can do for me."

"I am not joking, Megatron. I am willing to negotiate a _reasonable_ trade for his safe return," Optimus replied, optics narrowing slightly.

Megatron's smirk turned downright malicious. "You don't have anyone to trade, unless you care to give up Deadlock," he pointed out almost sweetly. "So what are you offering for him?"

"Four pallets of energon cubes," Optimus stated, opening the bargaining.

"Ten, and two orns of training for Hook by Ratchet," Megatron countered smugly.

"Seven, and one orn of training," Optimus replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Agreed, though you'll have to wait until Starscream is bored of him," Megatron gave a small shrug. "It seems the Seekers have a thing for convoy class pets."

"Another one of your jokes, Megatron?" Optimus asked, optics narrowing.

"Actually, no," he shifted fractionally, uneasy with the truth of it. "They've claimed him."

"It is unlike you to allow such insubordination to continue."

Megatron snorted. "Have you ever tried taking a new shiny away from that Seeker? If he wants it enough to take the beating, he can have it. You'll still want him back when they get bored."

"Put me through to Starscream," the Autobot leader demanded.

"He's not on shift right now," Megatron responded with false sweetness. "You can try calling back later."

"Megatron..." Optimus rumbled warningly.

With a roll of his optics Megatron glanced down from the screen. "Comm the glitch. Maybe he's worn himself out enough to answer _Prime_."

Soundwave automatically followed his leader's orders. It was several long moments before he spoke, "Starscream: not answering comm."

Megatron looked back up at Optimus Prime. "Then you should call back when he is on duty."

"I _will_ be calling back, Megatron," Optimus replied before cutting the connection.

* * *

Starscream hummed to himself as he watched all of his Seekers currently not on duty gather in their mess hall in response to his summons. It was gratifying to see that they still remembered the old ways, spurred on by the expectations of a new Seekerling and the communal effort it was requiring of them.

Once all had taken their seats, Starscream rose, flanked on either side by his trinemates. "Seekers! My trine has claimed the new Seekerling as our own. The line of the Winglord will continue!"

There was a ripple of surprise, then pleasure, then _excitement_ in the ranks. Wings flicking, flaring and twitching to tell of the good news all around the room.

"How long until it separates?" someone -Acid Storm- called out.

"Seven-point-five metacycles," Starscream replied, his wings twitching in pleasure at the reception to the news.

Glances were exchanged. Some trines knowing how difficult it was to carry in war, others simply logical or tactically minded enough to work it out.

"Are we keeping the carrier the entire time?" A fairly meek voice rose from the general noise.

"Unfortunately, that is not feasible. He will eventually need to return to his faction. However, he will share the responsibilities of raising the Seekerling with us." Starscream replied calmly.

Another wave of noise washed through the room, low murmurings of mixed objection, understanding and reluctant agreement. No one _wanted_ the carrier to leave their control, but the Winglord spoke the truth. And he was Winglord. If he could accept it, so would they.

Starscream waited another moment to see if there were any other comments or questions, then nodded to the group. "Dismissed." 

He sent a pulse to his mates across the bond. ~It is time for me to go on duty.~

~I'll tend to our carrier,~ Skywarp replied as he disappeared.

* * *

Less than a breem into his shift in the command center, Spectro glanced up at him. "Autobots are hailing us, Lord Starscream. The Prime."

Starscream heaved an overly-dramatic sigh. "Very well. Put him on-screen."

"Starscream," Optimus Prime looked anything but tolerant at the moment. His glower almost qualified as impressive. "I understand you have claimed my City Commander."

"I have," the Seeker nodded. "He's good in my berth."

It was rather gratifying to see the Prime twitch at that statement.

"It is time for him to be returned. Megatron has agreed to a trade," Optimus replied.

"But not time enough to take him from me for it," Starscream smirked. "Which means you now have to barter with me to release him to Megatron."

"What is it you're after by playing these games, Starscream?" Optimus asked, clearly frustrated by the run-around he was getting.

The Seeker suddenly went very serious. "What I want...." suddenly he laughed, a half mad sound that was nothing about humor. "Oh Prime. What I want I cannot have. But I will settle for you and one guard coming to the exchange. We have... _things_ to discus, my dear Prime. Things I do not expect your soldiers will appreciate hearing."

"Agreed." Optimus' voice was curt, not wanting to spend more time negotiating when Starscream's price was not unreasonable.

"There is a dry lakebed approximately a groon's drive southeast of the Ark. I'm sure you are familiar with it," Starscream began to make quick arrangements with his trine. "Have the goods there. We'll bring the prisoner." He glanced down towards Spectro. "And if you rouse Megatron for this, I'll have your spark chamber decorating my wall by dawn," he hissed.

"We'll be there, Starscream." Optimus replied, before ending the comm.

"Yes, Starscream," Spectro replied evenly.

* * *

Springer flew close to Optimus Prime and the trailer full of energon, but not so close than an explosion would take them both out. He had more sense than that. But he was still close, and on high alert. An hour and a half local time and they were in sight of the dry lakebed. Just in time to see two Seekers standing there, waiting for them.

All of the Autobots had been quite aware of their Prime's distress at the City Commander's predicament. Most hadn't known the full reason for it, however. Gossip simply hadn't had time to spread before Ultra Magnus had been captured.

Once they were at the meeting spot, Optimus Prime unhooked himself from the trailer and transformed, approaching Starscream. The Seeker nodded without even asking to see the energon, and Skywarp appeared with a slightly disoriented Ultra Magnus.

No one missed how both Skywarp and Thundercracker spread their wings protectively, placing themselves between Ultra Magnus and Springer, or that Ultra Magnus seemed too much at ease with them.

"I know from Ultra Magnus that you are aware of his condition," Starscream began without so much as a preamble sneer. His entire manner befitted the Winglord as the city ruler he had never actually been.

It was a change in attitude that Optimus Prime noticed and subtly responded to. "Yes. You can understand then my concern for him," the Prime replied, calming at the sight of his friend.

"Are you aware of the spark coding of his creation?" Starscream asked.

"No. I assume that is part of why you wished to speak to me?" Optimus asked, tilting his helm.

Starscream nodded. "He is carrying a Seeker." He hesitated, shooting a look at Ultra Magus, who nodded with an encouraging smile. "My trine's creation, now. He swears you'll do the right thing and help protect it from Megatron."

Optimus blinked at Starscream's claim of the sparkling, startled. "Of course!" As if there was any doubt. " _All_ sparklings deserve protection. This one is no exception."

There was a tiny droop in three sets of wings, relief. For all they were Decepticons, for all the long war on opposite sides, some things they would take the Prime's word for.

"We are asking that you do not look too closely at Ultra Magnus being gone for a joor or so every few orns," Starscream danced around their intention to continue to strength their bond with the sparkling. "Every Seeker will defend him with their spark."

Optimus inclined his helm. "I would like to know when he does, so that I may be able to respond appropriately in case one of my other officers notices," he replied.

Red optics flicked to Ultra Magus once more, the strongest sign of just how uneasy Starscream was with this, and how much he was trusting the City Commander in it. "That will be for him to tell you. I will not object. We ... will work on making Megatron see that ending the war is the best option for him." Red and blue trimmed white wings were now twisting with open unease that would be soothed, only to reappear.

The Prime's gaze softened. "That sparkling represents the future for all of us. I dearly do not wish to see it raised in a world of war, hostility, or oppression."

"Then understand that the Decepticons will never surrender," Starscream's posture stiffened a bit. "But there may be enough sanity in bucket-head's processors to see the potential for a long-term treaty."

"Nor would we surrender. Negotiations for such a treaty are reasonable. Our war has gone on far too long," Optimus replied.

Starscream gave a curt nod. "The energon?"

Optimus remotely signaled the trailer to open, revealing the seven pallets of energon. It began unloading so that the Seekers would be able to call in reinforcements to move it once the Autobots left.

Upon seeing it, Starscream nodded and reluctantly his trinemates parted so Ultra Magnus could leave their custody.

Before stepping forward Ultra Magnus caught Skywarp in a fierce kiss. The black Seeker rumbled and grabbed the bigger mech to kiss back with a fierce hunger and fingers that were anything but innocent on that powerful frame.

Amusement filled the Prime's optics as he watched them, and Springer dropped nearly fifty feet before catching himself and his sputtering engine.

Their vents were wide open by the time Ultra Magnus pulled back, firmly removing Skywarp's hands so that he could move on to his trinemate. A hot mouth landed hard on Thundercracker's, demanding. The blue Seeker startled, then responded with a deep, powerful rumble and grabbed the edge of Ultra Magnus's grill as he kissed back, just as hard and possibly even more determined to keep it going. His vents were wide and plating hot when Ultra Magnus finally managed to untangle himself with strong hands and a few quiet words.

When he walked up to Starscream, Prime was close enough to feel the heat radiating off the other convoy, and get a very good look at the way Starscream melted into the embrace and kiss, one far softer and sweeter than what his trinemates received.

Finally, Ultra Magnus was finished with his goodbyes and joined his friend-come-leader.

"Let's go home," Optimus murmured, clapping the other grounder on the shoulder before transforming. It was only a few minutes before his trailer was fully unloaded and he hooked up.

"Yes, let's go." Ultra Magnus didn't hide his relief as he transformed, even if his frame betrayed how well kissing the three Seekers had revved him up.

They were fifty miles away before Springer spoke up. "Mind explaining what that little display was all about?"

"A reminder for them and myself," Ultra Magnus replied.

"Of what?" the gruff triple-changer demanded. "That was _not_ normal and you know it."

"Nothing of what has happened could be called 'normal'," Ultra Magnus replied. "Nor do I wish to speak of it out here."

Springer's engine grumbled. "Then once Ratchet's cleared you, over high grade?"

"Once I'm cleared," he agreed.


	7. Never Underestimate a Sire

Ultra Magnus couldn't have been more grateful for the subtle permission the Prime gave for these covert meetings. They were short, they had to be to not interfere with anyone's duties. This first one had him driving in the mountain passes to a point where the trees and an overhang obstructed satellite view. He transformed and waited, every system primed for pleasure, his tanks completely topped off. When Skywarp appeared it was into a heated kiss that was ardently returned.

"Missed you, need you," Ultra Magnus growled against his lips, hands scraping down black sides.

"Missed you too," Skywarp gasped between kisses, his hands just as eager and his spike pressurizing between them.

Ultra Magnus' valve cover opened at the feel of it. He dropped to his knees, then his back, pulling the Seeker down with him. "Please!"

A deep, resonate rumble came from the Seeker and he buried himself in the offered slick heat with a moan and flare of his field that was sire-protocol driven bliss. His thrusts were deep and hard, chasing their release with a single-minded intent.

The larger mech gave little cries of pleasure, hips pressing up into each thrust. Their charge was building higher and faster than anything he could ever achieve by his own hand. His lover, the sire of his creation, was building similarly fast and overloaded to pump thick, nanite and energy rich transfluid into his valve. Ultra Magnus gave a shout as he overloaded as well, limbs clutching Skywarp close to him.

The black Seeker nuzzled him affectionately as they relaxed. "I'm glad you made it."

"Didn't want to miss it," he replied, nuzzling close with a contented sigh.

"Yeah, but if Prime changed his processors, you wouldn't have," Skywarp let out a long, content sigh before reluctantly wiggling free. "The others want their turn, and so does my spark."

Ultra Magnus released him, equally reluctant, and accepted the hand to help stand up. "Want all of you."

He hadn't even finished speaking before he was standing in the trine's quarters with two very aroused Seekers on the berth a pace away.

"Come here, carrier," Thundercracker rumbled, his hand extended in greeting.

Ultra Magnus quickly joined them on the berth, capturing Thundercracker's mouth in a hard kiss. It was clear from his field that the one overload with Skywarp had done little to slake his desire. He willingly lost himself in the three frames and the sparks that greedily fed his newspark their energy and coding. No one cared how long it took the four of them to wear out and sink into a content tangle of limbs and frames on the large berth.

"Prime's really okay with this?" Starscream was the first to speak up.

"Yes," was the rumbled reply, a white hand gently stroking Starscream's side.

"Why?" Thundercracker asked, his uneasiness flickering up now that their protocols had settled for the moment.

"Beyond being supportive of a friend?" Ultra Magnus' hand moved to the Order, attempting to soothe him. "This sparkling represents hope for the future. Hope that our kind will not always be at war, that we can start repairing and rebuilding."

"He really is like that, all the time?" Starscream sounded bemused. "It's amazing he can lead an army."

"It is certainly a different style of leadership, but it works for him," Ultra Magnus replied. "Though it doesn't filter down to the rank and file as much as he would like. I've known him since well before he became Prime. There are few that he can let go of being the Prime with."

Starscream hummed in complete understanding. "Who was he, before he was Prime? I know he wasn't anyone of rank that would normally be called on."

"We were dock workers in Iacon," the large grounder murmured. "Both of us shot, nearly killed, by Megatron well after the Council had been destroyed."

Starscream scowled. "Where any Seekers there?"

"No," Ultra Magnus shook his helm. "Not that I recall. Memories of before I booted up as Ultra Magnus are fragmentary at best."

"Then an attack while we were trying to retreat from the war and rebuild," Thundercracker nodded with a sigh. His fingers played lightly, drawing glyphs of claiming, affection and life-bearer on the convoy's chassis. "Who were you, back then?"

Ultra Magnus relaxed under the slight touch. "Dion." It was one of the few things from his early life that he could clearly remember, the glyph blazed onto his spark.

"Dion," Thundercracker repeated, rolling the glyph over his glossa and his processors. "You were a strong mech, even then. Loyal."

"I like it," Skywarp declared. "Dion. It's a good designation for our carrier."

"His designation is Ultra Magus," Starscream corrected a bit sharply, a history there of having his designation abused.

"Dion is no more," the grounder agreed sadly. "It is doubtful he could have survived the war."

A sound that may a have been a word or may have simply been a whine, barely became audible before Starscream struck the black and purple Seeker on the back of the helm. "No."

"But..."

"No," Thundercracker added with a warning rumble. "If he does not wish to be called Dion, we will not use it."

A sad sound came from Skywarp before he settled and focused his attention on snuggling close to the big grounder.

"Processors aren't his best armor," Starscream apologized.

"He doesn't seem to suffer a lack of affection for it," Ultra Magnus replied teasingly, twisting slightly to nuzzle at the dark Seeker.

"No," Thundercracker's tone was soft, warm in a way he never allowed outside these quarters. "We did not court him for his intellect." He shifted focus to Ultra Magnus. "How have you been, these last three orns? Are they treating you well? Is anyone giving you trouble?"

"I have been fine, other than missing you three," he said softly. "Springer knows as well, but he's been helpful. He has quietly made sure the fliers on the Autobot side know my sparkling has been claimed, without going into specifics."

Starscream hummed. "He has enough rank, they might well assume he has. Or Prime. Either way, he has our thanks for it. He's a pit of an enemy for a helo."

"How is it going with Megatron?" Ultra Magnus asked, nuzzling the white Seeker.

Starscream could only groan. "Poorly. The mech's incapable of comprehending an end to conflict. We're working on it though. Working on him."

"I am sorry he's being unreasonable." Ultra Magnus kissed him softly. "If there is anyone who can get him to see reason, it is you and your trine."

"If he wasn't so unreasonable, things would have ended long ago," Starscream admitted, melting with a happy purr into the kiss.

"Ending him, a real coupe, is not an easy prospect either. There are many powerful factions within the Decepticons, some may be strong enough to keep the army together long enough to cause real problems."

"And if we were to go Neutral, with all of your Seekers?" Ultra Magnus asked quietly. "It would not take Megatron from his rule, but it would take away one of his greatest advantages.

"And focus his wrath from the Autobots to us," Starscream pointed out. "If there's one thing he hates more than Prime, it's traitors. Why else offer to trade you for Deadlock? He wants that traitor back _bad_."

"We would not stand alone," Ultra Magnus countered. "He would find it very difficult to maintain a war on two fronts."

"We will, but to count on Prime defending _us_ , for Autobots to give their sparks to protect us," Starscream shook his helm. "It's a lot to accept, even if it was just the three of us that needed to be convinced. Remember, not all Seekers stood down when I called them to last time. I may be Winglord, this sparkling may be a unifying factor few things can compare to, but it's still asking a great deal of the others."

The grounder sighed, stroking his cheek. "I'm not saying you have to, it's just an option to look at."

"It is an option, if circumstances seem to favor it," Thundercracker agreed. "Right now, they don't."

"Then we will put it aside until they do." Ultra Magnus' hands stroked plating, his field flickering with the beginnings of renewed desire. His Seekers responded eagerly, with Skywarp wiggling between his legs to kiss and lick his spike cover with a sense of mischief.

* * *

Soundwave settled in his habitual seat in the conference room. Since arriving on Earth a vorn and a half ago, Megatron and Starscream had both become far less stable. Something in their long stasis, or possibly how they were brought back on line, had done serious damage to their priority protocols, and possibly far more. The powerful vision that had held the Decepticons together and roughly on course was long gone. It had been failing since the destruction of Praxus and Vos, but since awakening on Earth it had degraded at an exponential rate.

To say Soundwave was concerned was an understatement.

Other Decepticon officers arrived, taking their own seats. Starscream was last, sweeping into the room with his characteristic drama.

A quick scan revealed them all to be within normal range. Blastoff was doing tactical calculations. Motormaster was a bundle of pure rage contained by fear of Megatron. Astrotrain wasn't paying attention and Scrapper was off on his own current project.

Starscream though ... Starscream was up to something. Of course, that was normal too. Irritating, but normal.

It didn't take long for the Seeker to play his hand.

"Megatron! I have a way for us to end this war once and for all." Wings flared and optics were bright as he unsubspaced a stack of datapads. An original, and several copies that were passed around to the officers present.

Soundwave scanned his copy, processing it far more quickly than the others.

A peace treaty?

He delved into the details, noting who had crafted it. Prowl. It would have to be studied _very_ carefully, but Prowl's signature also meant it would be absolutely complete and done to a perfectionist's standard. There was no Autobot Soundwave would have preferred to see such a document from more.

The terms were ... quite reasonable. Very reasonable. Favorable even.

The Seeker gave them all a long moment to realize what they had before them before he continued to speak. "This, Megatron, is what we agreed to fight for so long ago. If there was any reason for leading us beyond your own ego, you will agree to it."

"How did you get this?" Megatron growled, low and dangerous but not yet intent on violence.

Everyone, except Starscream, froze and silently tried to edge out of the line of fire. Even Shockwave, safe on Cybertron, went stock still.

"Through negotiations," Starscream sneered. "How _else_ would I have?"

"Without clearing it through me," Megatron leaned back in his chair and locked on the Seeker with deep red optics that promised pain. "Without finding out what you were authorized to offer. You have been speaking with the enemy, behind my back."

"You could not conceive of even speaking with them," Starscream replied, tone far too sweetly reasonable. "It was clear upfront that you were not involved, indirectly or otherwise. However, this war has gone on long enough. We have been reduced to a stalemate. Those whom we originally rebelled against are long gone. It was time and past to hear what _this_ Prime was willing to offer."

"Willing offer _you_ , you mean," Megatron surged to his pedes, his fusion cannon humming to life. "What _is_ Prime offering you to be rid of me?" he demanded, stalking forward.

A few vorns ago, Soundwave would have spoken up. He would have detailed the treaty to Megatron in terms the warrior would understand. But now, no, he was not willing to take the beating that was currently aimed at Starscream. Assuming the Seeker survived, perhaps it was time to speak with him, and Optimus Prime, about this offering.

Soundwave nearly startled visibly when that thought registered. Not because it was logical, but because Starscream _meant_ it. He wanted this treaty, and badly.

"If you had even _bothered_ to read, you would see that getting rid of you is nowhere in it, oh _mighty_ Megatron," Starscream replied, facing him down with glittering optics. "Instead you are grasping at paranoid wires in order to keep a war going that only serves to further your _selfish_ megalomania!"

"You expect me to believe a document is the full extent of your negotiations?" Megatron rumbled before striking out, his fist connecting with Starscream's cockpit. "Do you take me for a fool?"

"Spoken as someone who has no _concept_ of what goes into such things!" Starscream replied, lashing back in defense. "As a leader whom has no sense of the worth of those that follow them!"

Megatron didn't reply with words, merely a much harder punch that slammed Starscream into the wall. The Seeker didn't have a chance to orient himself before the much heavier mech was on him, breaking armor and snapping struts.

After a moment to debate, Soundwave reached out with his mind and tried to calm the rage boiling inside his leader. This was an excessive reaction.

Megatron hesitated for a moment, pulling back, and that was all the opening that was needed. A flash of purple, a blur of black, another flash, and Starscream was gone.

Megatron snarled, but stalked back to his chair to continue the meeting as if nothing had happened.

* * *

Ultra Magnus sat in the Prime's office inside Metroplex, with Optimus himself and Prowl. Had he been a less patient mech, he would have been fidgeting by now. As it was, they were waiting for Starscream and his trine to show, to report how Megatron had reacted to the proposed treaty.

It had been a risk, writing it up without Megatron's knowledge. However, all were in agreement that it was the only way a peace treaty would be negotiated at all, and had gone ahead with it. Four metacycles without any change in the warlord's position had convinced them that more drastic action had been needed if the war was to end.

Skywarp's distinctive poof of air came with his arrival, a badly battered Starscream in his arms and every system in him at battle readiness. "Get Ratchet."

"I don't need Ratchet," Starscream hissed despite the static and pain from his battered frame. "Get Thundercracker. We can finish this now."

"But...." Skywarp whined, his wings flaring and twitching in distress.

"Go. I'm fine," Starscream pushed him away and watched as he vanished.

Ultra Magnus' field flared in distress at the sight of his injured lover. "What happened?"

"Ratchet is on his way," Optimus interrupted. "He can look you over while we talk, unless there are injuries significant enough to require immediate repair."

"There aren't," Starscream said coolly as Skywarp arrived with Thundercracker. "That buckethead has beaten me enough times I know serious damage from not."

Thundercracker walked over and gave his leader a serious looking over. "True enough. A medic can fix it faster, but the three of us would have fixed all this on our own normally."

He stepped aside as Ratchet strode in, took one look at the gathering, and began cursing.

Skywarp hissed and rattled his wings, but settled, grudgingly, when Thundercracker got between him and the medic.

Ultra Magnus didn't relax until he heard the tone of Ratchet's curses. Anyone who spent much time around the medic would know that those particular ones meant the patient wasn't in any immediate danger, backing up what Starscream had said.

"It is safe to assume that Megatron did not take the presentation of the treaty well," Prowl commented more than asked, watching as the medic worked.

"No kidding," Skywarp grumbled. "He didn't even _read_ it!"

"I wasn't expecting him to. Soundwave did, and Blast Off. Maybe Scrapper. Shockwave will have by now," Starscream rattled off, obviously accustomed to talking while being repaired. "All he cared about was what I was plotting with you. Glitch."

"He's been degrading ever since we activated on Earth," Thundercracker added quietly. "Even Soundwave's noticed."

"Then perhaps some of them will see reason, even if Megatron will not," Prowl said.

"What do the three of you wish to do?" Optimus asked.

"If we can negotiate a treaty with you, the Seekers will be turning Neutral," Starscream managed to keep his voice level, though his wings quivered in distress and distaste. "Maybe with a few others, but we're going to abandon the Decepticons. All Seekers. They will follow their Winglord, or they will be cut off. Just as my predecessor did to those who chose to become Autobots."

"If it is acceptable to all, I suggest starting with the previously-negotiated treaty and altering it where necessary," Prowl suggested.

"We will back you as allies against those who would seek to destroy our peace," Optimus added.

"Good," Starscream settled a tiny bit, still ignoring Ratchet as he worked setting his frame to rights. "I need Ultra Magnus to join us, as a Neutral. Protecting and raising my heir is the galvanizing fact that is going to make defecting work at all."

Optimus tensed and his optics automatically went towards his friend. He couldn't promise someone against their wishes. He relaxed at Ultra Magnus' nod. "Alright."

"But sir-" Prowl started.

"No, Prowl. It is his choice, and he agreed," Optimus cut him off sternly, watching in silence and some amusement as his SIC dealt with the contradictory reactions to losing a tactician nearly as gifted as himself. It wasn't a show many would have been able to watch, but he'd known Prowl for a very long time.

All three Seekers had marked signs of relief as a mass of tension drained from them.

"We have the equipment to produce energon locally, and some supplements," Starscream picked up with something that caught Ratchet's attention. No one doubted that trying to deny supplements would mean facing Ratchet's non-too-subtle wrath. "I would negotiate for medical training for at least one Seeker."

"You will let me know which ones, so I can make sure there isn't any missing supplements," Ratchet said, tone brooking no argument. Starscream sent the medic a databurst with what they expected they could acquire themselves, and how.

"Perhaps some training for some of our younger fliers, in exchange?" Prowl suggested.

"Agreed," Starscream has no issues with it.

"The Aerialbots?" Thundercracker spoke up, a suggestion as much as a hope.

Prowl made note of it as he began working on re-writing the treaty. "They are the youngest, and the most in need," he agreed.

Ratchet hummed, and sent back a databurst of what Ultra Magnus would need, amounts and purity levels. "He will be given enough to last until you are able to start processing them yourself."

"Thank you," Starscream's reply was honest.

"Is there anything else?" Optimus asked.

"Where will you be setting up base?" Prowl asked.

"Brazil is the top contender," Starscream answered. "The humans are agreeable, resources are abundant, they have plenty of airspace and are not likely to try and call on us for anything other than immediate self defense."

Prowl was silent for a moment, then inclined his helm. "It is a good choice. Politically, they are not particularly aggressive, unlike most other large countries."

"And it's warm," Skywarp added with a grin. "Much better than Canada."

"Which has far too many close ties with the US and England," Starscream added, then hesitated. "I would like to try and rehabilitate the Autobot Seekers that remain."

"If they are willing," Optimus said quietly. "I understand that they have had issues, being separated from the rest of their kind."

"Understatement of the war, Prime," Starscream sighed, showing a hint that it distressed him to have any of his kind in such a state, even those labeled traitors and deserters and officially banished. "I'm not looking to force them. Just... the offer stands. I'm offering amnesty, a full pardon to them all, whether they come back or not. Crimes against Seeker-kind from when we sign the treaty forward will count. More to the point, I want to speak with each of them, face to face. This vorn, if possible."

"We will try to arrange something." Optimus reached across, laying a hand on Starscream's arm in sympathy. "The war has brought much ill, but we must do what we can to mitigate the damage. I'm sure there are several that will find some measure of healing in this."

"I hope we all do." Crimson optics met warm blue. "There are too few of us left to be so divided."


	8. When War Collapses

Ultra Magnus hummed as he looked around him, just outside the Seekers' new base, a place that Starscream hummed about becoming a proper city; Mar Vos. It had been hard work, putting even this basic and crude base together with only a dozen and a half sets of hands, all of them needing to do their actual jobs at the same time and not one skilled on any level at construction. However when he'd been able to come and help out, he had enjoyed every moment of working alongside his enemies-turned-lovers. Of seeing something that was new and _theirs_ rise up around them, and with it hope for lasting peace. It hadn't mattered that the four metacycles leading up to this had been filled with uncertainty, fear and sneaking around. It had worked out, just as Starscream had promised.

He could feel the sparkling react as they joined him on the highest tower, pulsing a joyous greeting for its sires. The excitement and anticipation the trine had for their sparkling was palpable. What was just as joyous was how other Seekers had reacted, even without one of his trine visible. Each and every one, mecha that had tried to kill him in battle time and again, came up to trill, touch his chest over the newspark and gave him little gifts.

Ultra Magnus looked upwards. It was time. Starscream had put a call out to his people, calling them to their new home. The first group had come two orns before, when he had officially resigned from the Autobots to join his lovers as a Neutral. This was the second batch, the majority of those that had been stationed on Cybertron.

At only a scant five stories tall, even this tallest of the buildings seemed short as they watched the dots become glimmers and gradually became more defined.

"I have to go greet them," Starscream murmured before claiming a soft kiss. "Thundercracker and Skywarp will remain here."

Ultra Magnus kissed him back tenderly. "We will be fine. Welcome your people home."

Almost reluctant, but also excited, Starscream stepped back and leapt into the air. He was quickly joined by many of the Seekers already in residence. At Ultra Magnus' sides, the rest of the trine pressed close, their fields and frames humming with pleasure and excitement. The grounder looked up again and gasped as the incoming Seekers became clearer. The sheer number of Seekers that had answered their Winglord's call was staggering. Air caught in his vents as he took in a sight more wondrous than any pictures his broken pre-war memory could conjure. And to think their numbers had been decimated by war...

The newspark against his pulsed rapidly, and his hand unconsciously came up to press over his chest. "Yes, little one," he murmured. "Those are your people up there."

His reaction was a distinct contrast to the grief apparent in the two Seekers flanking him, mechs who had no doubt seen Vos at its peak, a time when the Seeker ranks could blacken the sky with their wings. Compared to that, the scant six score coming in would be sparkbreaking.

Yet as he watched, there was joy there too, relief that at least this many had survived and come. Ultra Magnus had listened, as best he could, to Starscream's fretting over having enough Seekers to rebuild their numbers to something safe. To Starscream, safe meant at least a hundred thousand. Comparing that to the hundred and thirty or so in the air now and it gave him some grasp of how stressed his lover was about their numbers.

It was a stress that only time and population increase could ease, though it ached the grounder's spark that he could not comfort him. Still, if their sparks were determined and willing, they'd make a good start towards it. Their sparkling would be the first of a new generation, one that hopefully would not know the horror their elders had endured.

"To think that is all that's survived of almost twenty six million Seekers," Thundercracker's voice next to him was deep with grief. "So many sparklines, just gone. So many skills have been lost."

Ultra Magnus' hands reached out to grasp those of the Seekers on either side of him. "That is something that can be applied to all of us," he murmured sadly. "The cost has been so high... too high. But now we can only do our best for the next generation, to rebuild our people as we do everything else."

"Yes, it's what we'll do," Thundercracker said, pausing as Starscream began darting and dancing between and with various trines in greeting. He scowled up at his leader and focused inward.

"Vos is alive!" Skywarp had no such reservations about sharing the news.

Ultra Magnus glanced between them. "Vos is alive?" he asked, not understanding what that meant.

"Yep," Skywarp grinned wildly.

"Vos' core was a cityformer, not unlike Metroplex and Trypticon, but built in a time when it was less important that they could transform into a mobile ground form," Thundercracker explained. "If Vos survived and is heeding the Winglord's call, we'll have a proper city as soon as it lands."

"And defenses," Skywarp added cheerily as the dancing continued above them.

"And the full libraries," Thundercracker's wings trembled at the implications of just how much was about to be recovered. "The medical facilities, supplies, there's so much it should contain if it survived well enough to fly here on its own."

"Then this will truly live up to its name," Ultra Magnus murmured. "It would be such a boon to ours..." his hands tightened slightly on theirs, leaning in to kiss them.

"Yes," Thundercracker whispered into the kiss, something inside him lightening for the first time since he'd flown over the shattered remains of the once great City of the Seekers. "A boon like little else."

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The authors are only playing with their own twisted muses. Transformers belong to Hasbro. Fandom-side, check the inspirations page <http://www.gatekat-fics.livejournal.com/290.html>. We draw from a ton of amazing stories and authors you should read. 
> 
> nanoklik = 1/8 second;  
> klik = 496 nanokliks/62 seconds;  
> breem = 8 kliks/8.27 minutes;  
> groon = 9 breem/1.24 hours;  
> joor = 6 groon/7.44 hours;  
> orn = 42 joor/13.02 days;  
> decaorn = 32 orns/1.14 years;  
> metacycle = 8 decaorn/9.22 years;  
> vorn = 9 metacycles/72 decaorn/83 years; 
> 
> ::text:: comm chatter  
> ~text~ hardline/bond chatter
> 
> The Prompt: <http://tfanonkink.livejournal.com/11776.html?thread=12500224#t12500224>
> 
> There's been a couple of mechpreg requests lately, and they spawned another one in my mind.
> 
> An Autobot is captured by Decepticons. At first it's business as usual, but then comes the reveal: the Autobot is sparked up. Really, this information shouldn't cause any extra procedures, but somehow, it hits one (or two) 'Con(s) right in their near to non-excistent conscience. They move the Autobot into their quarters, with or without permission, give him energon, and otherwise try to make him comfortable.
> 
> The Autobot is completely floored by this care he's being shown by the enemy. He doesn't have a mate or regular berth partner, so the most he had to expect back on the Ark was a stern talking-to for carelessness. So the mother-henning is hitting him right in the needy carrier potocols, and he's quick to develop emotional ties with his 'captor(s)'. It takes some convincing on his part the get the 'Con(s) into berth with him, but the excuse that the sparkling would benefit from the energy from overloads and the nanites from transfluid works well.
> 
> Want:  
> \- The 'Con(s) being gruff and awkward with with their dispalys of affecion/care. They're not really sure what's compelling them to do it, but dammit, they're gonna do it properly.  
> \- Preggy-bot being the seducer  
> \- The 'Con(s) developing creator-like feelings towards the sparkling


End file.
